Community Action Archives

Trailblazing for Tomorrow: Cultivating Healthy Habits through Trails and Outdoor Time

Apr 30, 2024 | Community Action, Webinars

Discovering nature and enjoying the outdoors creates lasting childhood memories while also promoting healthy habits. Join us for an engaging webinar on how South Carolina’s communities can provide fun outdoor experiences for kids and families through the Kids in Parks TRACK Trails initiative.

By offering an expanding network of family-friendly outdoor adventures called TRACK Trails, Kids in Parks works across communities to increase access to adventure. Each TRACK Trail features self-guided materials that turn a normal visit into a fun and exciting outdoor experience. Best of all, kids earn prizes for each adventure tracked at http://kidsinparks.com.

Kids in Parks recently received a grant through the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation to expand the network of TRACK Trails across South Carolina. By attending this webinar, you will learn how to partner with Kids in Parks to create a community-centered plan for the equitable expansion of the program that best meets the needs of the residents of your community.

Building Bridges: A Collaborative Partnership Between Community Coalition and Schools

Feb 27, 2024 | Community Action, Schools, Webinars

Get ready to learn about the exciting initiatives underway in our state that aim to bridge the gap between communities and schools! Join us as Rachel Fobare takes us on a journey through the implementation of Erin’s Law in our schools and shares valuable information about community resources that can support this law’s requirements. And that’s not all – we’ll also hear from Robin Cooper, who will discuss how schools and community partners can work together to improve student and community health by aligning their shared goals. This is a unique opportunity to discover how collaboration and partnerships can lead to positive outcomes for our communities, so don’t miss it!

Developing a Funding Strategy for Your Coalition

Oct 31, 2023 | Capacity Building, Community Action, Webinars

Funding is critical for any organization or coalition to move plans and ideas into action that affect positive change in their community. As essential as it is, finding funding can feel confusing, challenging, and overwhelming. During this webinar, we will explore common challenges that organizations and coalitions face in identifying and leveraging funding for collaborative health improvement efforts, as well as opportunities and tools to overcome those challenges. Participants will better understand how to create a funding strategy that is intentional and aligned with their partnerships and priorities.

New & Emerging Research on HEAL

Jul 26, 2023 | Community Action, Webinars

New and Emerging Research on HEAL will give you the opportunity to hear from an expert in South Carolina on some of the research that he is a part of through the University of South Carolina School of Public Health. Some of the topics that will be covered today are Obesity and environmental justice, the development of a Childhood Obesogenic Environment Index and its application across South Carolina counties, as well as Pedestrian and Cyclist Crashes across SC. We hope that hearing about this research will help grow your understanding about environments that support healthy behaviors and how we might address them in our state.

Dr. Andy Kaczynski is a Co-Investigator with the USC Prevention Research Center and Director of the Built Environment and Community Health (BEACH) Laboratory. In the BEACH Lab, he and his students study how the communities in which we live, work, learn, pray, and play affect the health and well-being of residents of all ages. In addition, Dr. Kaczynski’s research adopts an environmental justice approach to examine whether different population segments or geographic areas have equal access to positive resources (e.g., parks) or protection from negative amenities (e.g., fast food restaurants). Overall, research in the BEACH Lab aims to develop tools, systems, and environmental and policy interventions that engage community members and other diverse stakeholders in building neighborhoods and communities that promote physical activity, healthy eating, and obesity and chronic disease prevention.

https://youtu.be/QNV-Te57eeM

Part 2: The PSE Approach for Creating Healthy Communities

Jun 16, 2023 | Community Action, Webinars

Policy, systems and environment (PSE) change differs greatly from programs. PSE change is sustainable throughout time while programs are temporary. The two approaches can work hand-in-hand, but PSE change seeks to go beyond programming and into the systems that create the structures in which we live, learn, work, pray and play.

Listen to Wholespire and the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health experts about PSE change and learn about real-life examples across South Carolina. This webinar is for anyone working to increase access to healthy choices, especially healthy eating and active living.

Part 1: The PSE Approach for Creating Healthy Communities

Mar 21, 2023 | Community Action, Webinars

Policy, systems and environment (PSE) change differs greatly from programs. PSE change is sustainable throughout time, while programs are temporary. The two approaches can work hand-in-hand, but PSE change seeks to go beyond programming and into the systems that create the structures in which we live, learn, work, pray and play. Join us and the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health experts as we discuss PSE change and provide real-life examples across South Carolina. This webinar is for anyone working to increase access to healthy choices, especially healthy eating and active living.