Mar 20, 2020 | HYPE Civic Action Projects, Impact, News
A youth group at Pine Grove AME Church are trying to do something about the health of their community by implementing health policies and educating the congregation on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Through a partnership between Eat Smart Move More South Carolina and the 7th District AME Church, nine teens and pre-teens involved in Pine Grove’s Young People Division (YPD) had a chance to participate in The HYPE Project and learn about policy, system, and environmental change and the positive impact they can have on their community.
“I just let them take charge,” says Miranda Blocker, Pine Grove AME Church YPD Director and HYPE Team Adult Advisor. “They created the plan and did all of the work. They really did.”
Two senior members of the HYPE team – Alex Blocker (17) and Sabrina Bowman (18) – took the lead on creating an action plan by researching and developing key focus areas. Healthy eating and active living policies within the church and a church garden were agreed upon by the HYPE team.
“We modeled it after some other plans that we saw and made it off of the needs that we could do,” said Alex. “We tried to be realistic, but also optimistic in how we could do it.”
Once the HYPE team completed the action plan, it was a matter of getting it up the chain of command, so to speak. Ultimately, the elders and the pastor approved the plan and cleared the path to healthy change.
“I’ve been around here for a long time. I do a lot with the children. If the children present something, the church is going to support them 100 percent,” said Miranda.
Healthy Eating and Active Living Policies
The Pine Grove HYPE Team wanted to ensure meals and snacks being served at all church-hosted events would be healthy choices, and only water would be served in the fellowship hall. The group also wanted a 5-minute physical activity break incorporated into Bible Study, Sunday School, church meetings, and the afterschool program. The youth successfully advocated for all these healthy policy changes.
According to the HYPE team, there wasn’t a lot of pushback. “We had people ask for sweet tea, but we stood by our water policy,” said Eric Gamble, Jr. (17).
“The policy itself was easy. Some of it was simple. Like during a meeting, stop right there and do 5 minutes of cardio. That’s easy for them to do,” said Alex. “But, when it comes to just serving water at an event, now you’re interfering with someone’s committee. But it all worked out. Everything in the policy got approved, and I don’t think we had to actually change anything. So, they were pretty open to it.”
All the policies also apply to the afterschool program. Kids are encouraged to go outside and play. The church provides access to jump ropes, balls, and green spaces.
“We look forward to going outside, being ourselves, and going outside to play with each other,” said Elise Gamble (11).
Church Garden
It’s a small church garden, but it’s the start of something big and it’s full of purpose. With the help of a congregation member with experience in gardening, the HYPE team created a garden out of plastic barrels cut to the size of planters, which saved a lot of time with removing grass and cultivating the soil.
“We saw it was something the church could do and that we could rent to other places. It just made sense to be sustainable and grow healthy food. That way you’re not only learning new things but you’re also eating it,” said Alex.
“When we started this, the kids were green. That’s something people don’t do anymore. They don’t have gardens,” said Miranda. “What would’ve taken us 15 minutes to plant seeds, it took us two hours. Our instructor who was teaching us was very meticulous. What was most exciting was when people would come to church and see it grow.”
The garden is in a green space near the entrance to the church, so as congregants arrived, it piqued their interest. According to Miranda, they were very curious about the garden and asked, ‘What are you going to give to us,’ ‘When can we eat some,’ ‘Who is this for,’ or ‘I’m going to pick those greens.’
Again, Miranda let the youth do all the work and take care of the garden. The church hosts an afterschool program, so the kids were responsible for watering the garden twice a week. They even created some creative signs for the plants, like Bushy Broccoli and Cool Collards.
“The kids enjoy it. The kids are always ready to mess in the garden and go outside and play. The grown-ups, they enjoy it too. They like that their kids are liking to go outside, are moving more, and not staying inside playing games and being in front of a screen,” said Eric.
The Future
The Pine Grove HYPE Team plans to continue their garden with the next planting in Spring 2020. They’ll plant a variety of vegetables – tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, etc. They eventually want to increase the amount of food they produce and give it to the senior members of their church and ultimately, to the community.
As far as physical activity goes, they’re planning on building a basketball court that can be used for other youth activities like dodgeball or kickball. They’re also planning on creating a walking path in the adjacent parking lot.
“I think all of the outside field activities can be for the community. If they come consistently, the parents might see there’s a church and could be interested in attending,” said Alex.
The HYPE Project has taught youth the importance of being involved in their community and helping others. It’s also taught them some personal lessons. When they first heard about The HYPE Project, they weren’t sure what they were getting themselves into. They said they never intentionally thought about eating healthy, but now they do.
When asked what they think about The HYPE Project after creating an action plan, working with leadership, and implementing the changes, they all agreed that it has been a positive experience.
“It’s great. I’m not just saying it because they gave us money. That’s also good. But everything we’ve talked about as far as helping the kids, helping the adults. It’s definitely something that more communities need. I think we all love it. The kids love it,” said Eric.
Elise said, “I wouldn’t want to change it because everyone’s working together to make it happen.”
“I think it’s a big impact. When we first thought about it, we really didn’t know what it was,” said Amari Rogers (16). “It really helped us grow. It helped me focus more on what I eat and making healthy choices.”
Alex said, “I had to talk to people to get the HYPE Project passed and working to create a policy. It might not be the same in terms of politics, but the process of creating it was still the same. That definitely helped me in other areas, and then again, just the people skills, the social skills in working with Eric on creating the video and talking to everyone else. So, everything kind of went hand in hand preparing me for other things.”
Mar 20, 2020 | Impact, Mini-Grant Projects, News
Off I-85 in the Upstate is Pelzer, SC, a small community located in a food desert. While many associate this corridor with the City of Greenville, a vibrant metropolitan area, there are communities in the county that don’t have resources like grocery stores within a reasonable distance or the transportation to get there.
Pelzer is one of those rural, tight-knit communities that’s rich in family history and a church of nearly 200 members that cares deeply for others. Shady Grove Baptist Church built a church garden to nurture its members and community members. The church garden has been there for a few years now, getting bigger each planting season with enough fresh vegetables to feed more than one hundred families.
“Oh, my goodness! We have had so much. Our goal was for the food to be given to our senior citizens and people in the community who are in need. Truly, we have done that,” said Mamie Mills Reid,
Ministry Development Coordinator. “Just this year (2019) alone, we have given over 150 packages of vegetables. We had people come to the church and get what they wanted. We gave away food at two other locations. It’s just been so productive.”
It has taken a few years for the church to get the garden where it is now. With the help of technical assistance from LiveWell Greenville and grants from Gardens for Good and Eat Smart Move More South Carolina, the church family created a large garden, helped reduce food insecurity for many families, and encouraged members to adopt a healthy lifestyle, which has helped some overcome health issues.
Laying the Foundation
Years ago, Shady Grove joined LiveWell at Worship, a focus area of LiveWell Greenville that supports congregations in creating healthier worship environments through healthy eating and active living initiatives. It was through this initiative that Shady Grove leaders started their mission to provide congregants with opportunities to make healthy choices at church.
They adopted policies, such as water only, no fried foods at church-hosted meals, and no saltshakers on tables. Every third Sunday, they host health screenings. Leaders have also incorporated walking into the mix by participating in the Alzheimer’s Walk.
“Our pastor invites congregants to walk with him. You would be surprised at the number of people who walk with him. We had about 35 people at the last walk,” said Mamie. “It’s for three purposes: it’s for Alzheimer’s; it’s for comradery; and it’s for the exercise.”
The Garden
During a LiveWell Greenville meeting, Mamie and her pastor heard about a grant opportunity from Gardens for Good. They knew the church was in a food desert and they wanted to do something to help the community, so they applied in 2015 and received the grant to build raised bed gardens.
“Our people here don’t have transportation and they can’t go to the grocery stores and get fresh food but we thought it would be such an excellent thing to actually grow the fresh produce on the campus, and let our people partake of it,” said Mamie.
The garden helps provide nutritious food to the community and shows the younger people where vegetables come from. “They don’t come from Publix. They don’t come from Bi-Lo and Ingles. They come from the ground,” said Mamie. “So, it has been a wonderful teaching experience for them. My husband has taken our younger men and ladies down to the garden and they have participated in the growing.”
Skip ahead to 2018 when Shady Grove heard about an ESMMSC grant opportunity at a LiveWell Greenville meeting. They decided to press their luck and apply for a Let’sGo 3.0 mini-grant.
“We had already started working on the garden, but this grant allowed us to purchase tools and other things that we needed,” said Mamie.
The tools made working in the garden easier. Anyone who has kept a garden, knows that a lot of time and effort goes into cultivating the soil, watering the plants, pulling weeds, and harvesting the crops. Add the hot Carolina sun in there, and that makes for a long day.
“I hope at some point we can use it as a tool with our younger generations to get more interest in gardening and healthy eating. And just getting them more interested in working,” said Janie Reid, church member and garden volunteer. “When it comes to a community garden, the Biblical saying is true: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. It’s hard to make yourself get out there in 90-degree weather and pull the Bermuda grass and water the garden.”
Changing Lives
Eating a healthy, balanced diet and getting exercise are key elements to living a healthy life. And that’s what the LiveWell at Worship initiative and the garden have done for many church members – it’s changing lives.
Gail Canty is a church member and benefactor not only of the garden, but also of the entire health and wellness program. She grew up eating fried foods and drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, even though she ate from the garden her father tended. As an adult, she developed Type 2 diabetes.
“It’s good that we have baked foods, more salads, and don’t go heavy on the carbs at church. It’s helped me a lot to keep my diabetes in control. With lifestyle changes, for me, I don’t have to take any medication at this point. I’m been off diabetes medication for almost a year. For me, I attribute it to eating better and walking.
“Since we are a wellness church, we do the chair exercises and other things to keep moving, and I think that helped me. It motivates me to continue those healthy rituals when I’m at home.
“We have nurses here at church who encourage us to drink water. That motivated me to switch from juices to water. I’m not a soda drinker, but I was a juice drinker. Even at church events, they have bottled water and that helps me. If I’m going to do it here, I may as well do it at home.”
Shady Grove Baptist Church isn’t just looking out for their own. They seek out people who aren’t members of the church to feed. “Just about everyone in this community belongs to Shady Grove, but I know that there was a disabled members’ neighbor who was not a member of this church, and she would always benefit from the garden. We have another lady who is widowed, and we make sure she gets vegetables. So, we do identify anyone who is 65 or older and we make sure they benefit from the garden,” said Janie.
The entire wellness program at Shady Grove Baptist Church seems to be a great success. From guest speakers, walks, and health screenings to the garden, fellowship, and youth engagement, the people of Shady Grove are truly making healthy change happen for their community.
“It’s such an opportunity for the church and the community to grow in a different area other than just spiritual because the spiritual makes the physical. These bodies are supposed to be tended to very well,” said Janie.
Mar 20, 2020 | Impact, Mini-Grant Projects, News
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) is pleased to announce $30, 944.81 has been awarded to eight communities in the Lowcountry, Midlands, Pee Dee and Upstate regions of the state. For the past two-and-a-half years, ESMMSC has been funding communities around the state to increase access to healthy food and safe places for physical activity.
“This application round was the largest response we’ve received yet, which makes choosing the recipients more difficult,” said Kelsey Allen, Manager of Community Initiatives at ESMMSC. “We received 53 applications that were all deserving of funding, but we only had enough funds to award eight communities this time.”
Reviewers, located around the state, judge applications using set criteria, such as policy, system, and environmental change; health equity, underserved populations, and community accessibility, and community impact. For applications that were not accepts, technical assistance is provided, and, oftentimes, applicants are connected to ESMMSC partners who can help move the project along.
In June 2020, the application for the final round of mini-grants will open. Funding is made possible by The BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Round 4 Grant Recipients
Carolina Youth Development Center (CYDC) will plant a campus garden to serve its residents and the community. The goal is to implement a self-sustaining project that will allow kids to plant and grow food, process it in CYDC’s DHEC-certified commercial kitchen facility, and ultimately, sell it through a partnership with Lowcountry Street Grocery, an organization that delivers a mobile market to food deserts in the greater Charleston community. CYD will also partner with the Green Heart Project, which will design a garden space on CYDC’s to initially include seven raised garden beds. They will also use Green Heart Project’s science-based curriculum to engage residents in an after-school activity that teaches farm-to-table production.
Fort Lawn Community Center is partnering with the Town of Fort Lawn, Community Heart and Soul Team, and Eat Smart Move More Chester County to make improvements to a local playground, making it more user-friendly for youth and families. This idea is one of the findings during a walkability study. In addition, the Community Heart and Soul team interviewed hundreds of residents and visitors to the Fort Lawn and concluded that a major concern is a lack of recreational facilities. This project will encourage greater use of the playground by individuals and families through better signage, revamped edging and mulch for equipment, and improvements to parking. Plans include adding signage on major roads and in neighborhoods, purchasing and installing edging, mulch, and rock during a volunteer project day, publicizing the improvements, and determining a method for tracking usage of the playground.
Ladies Divine to Shine will convene a Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) team to engage youth leaders in creating a food policy council representing Lamar, SC and its surrounding communities. The HYPE Team will conduct activities to promote more consumption of fruits and vegetables, decreasing consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks, decreasing unhealthy snacks and reducing portion size and increasing physical activity. They will also conduct a healthy eating and physical activity assessment of the area, as well as lead physical activities for students during the summer months.
The Town of Paxville will renovate Paxville Community Park to make it accessible and inclusive for all residents. The intention of this project is to facilitate increased and diverse usage of the park as well as to encourage healthy living habits and fellowship among community members. While some of the park features are usable, the park as a whole does not currently present itself as a modern or inspiring space for the public to utilize or gather. This park project reflects the growing needs and interests of the community to cater to a young and rural population by offering modern, mixed-use, and health-oriented services. In parallel, the town is also conducting the process to obtain its own ambulance.
The Saluda High School HYPE Team will focus on improving Brooks and Rand Memorial Park, or “The Field.” Over the years, the park has been neglected. It no long has electricity and service. The park equipment is old, unusable, and unsafe. Tall grass, litter, and graffiti now pollute the area. The students believe that restoring and revitalizing the park will provide a safer and more accessible outlet for community members to get out and become physically active. The HYPE team will partner with community leaders and volunteers to install signage, replace benches and basketball goals. Other park improvements will be implemented that can lead to longer-standing changes in the Brooks and Roston Memorial Park and surrounding community.
The South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind Foundation (SCSDBF) wants to build upon its Pathways to Healthy Living Initiative by installing water refill stations on its campus, which will not only impact the students and faculty, but also the surround community that uses the Fluor Field House for physical activity. This project will resolve a safety issue for students who have difficulty using current water fountains from 1969. In addition to installing new and modern water refill stations, SCSDBF will use the funds to retrofit some water fountains with a water bottle refill fitting. By installing both new and retrofitted bottle filling stations, SCSDBF will make it easier for students, staff, and community members to adopt the healthy habit of drinking fresh water
St. James-Santee Elementary/Middle School will intentionally reach a pocket of Charleston County that has limited resources by installing inclusive playground equipment and bicycle stands, providing bicycle locks, and building a bike trail to connect the school campus to nearby trailheads. School leaders will also strengthen their open community use policy to allow parents/caregivers and their children to use the playground and biking trail during the weekends, school breaks, and summer. The project, in partnership with the Town of McClellanville and Francis Marion National Forest, will address community needs by providing free opportunities and easily-accessible space for the community to be active.
Keystone Substance Abuse Services will improve an existing walking path located on its campus. The walking path us rundown and not fully paved, oftentimes ending up as a mud pit after rainfall. The walking trail loops from the front of the building to the back of the building and creates an approximate .25 mile loop, and it’s the only recreation space that patients can access. Funding will support the pavement of the trail to allow our patients more access to a walking trail to increase physical activity. Evidence shows that physical activity can help provide structure, generate positivity, distract from cravings, and heal the body and brain. Long term plans include creating fitness stations for patients and staff to increase overall wellness for individuals.
Mar 20, 2020 | HYPE Civic Action Projects, News
For the second year in a row, Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) is partnering with the 7th Episcopal District of the AME Church to teach teens about The Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project and to help guide them through a public health project that focuses on healthy eating and/or active living in their churches or communities.
This year, eight churches were selected through a competitive application and review process to receive mini-grants and form HYPE teams. Four of the HYPE teams are new grantees that will identify new projects, while four are returning teams that will build upon their existing grant work. In addition to the eight teams, the Union County Public Health Taskforce funded an additional AME church that will work alongside the HYPE YPD Teams.
“The faith community has a long history of meeting the needs of their congregations and local communities, and this is especially true for African-American churches,” said Trimease K. Carter, Manager of Youth Engagement at ESMMSC. “This means the AME church will have an even larger impact on health equity and youth development.”
This opportunity is funded through a grant that ESMMSC received from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Division of Division of Injury and Substance Abuse Prevention. Through this partnership, HYPE Teams will address healthy eating and active living while also weaving in safety and injury prevention components into their projects.
2020 New HYPE Teams
Mt Zion AME Church, Greenwood County
Mt Pisgah AME Church, Dorchester County
Bethany AME Church, Union County
Singleton Chapel AME Church, Georgetown County
Thomas Chapel AME Church, Union County
2020 Returning HYPE Teams
Brown Chapel AME Church, Richland County
Oak Grove AME Church, Clarendon County
St. Paul AME Church Shaw, Sumter County
Pine Grove AME Church, Richland County
Jun 6, 2019 | Impact, Mini-Grant Projects, News
By SHAKORA BAMBERG T&D Correspondent
Growing Calhoun, Orangeburg, Bamberg believes in tomorrow and is on a mission to improve the health of the community, low-income households and schools through access to sustainable gardens, fresh food and education.
Growing COB was founded in December 2017 when End Child Hunger, a group out of the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, reached out to leaders in the community to start an Orangeburg chapter. Discussions showed there was an interest in starting a community garden. After meeting for a few months and bringing on new members, the group decided to expand its outreach to Calhoun and Bamberg counties.
One of the group’s projects is the Orangeburg County Community Garden located at South Carolina State University, which opened on Oct. 13, 2018. Every Wednesday, organizers give away free produce from the garden to community members. Jamison’s Pharmacy in Orangeburg serves as the food hub, and hundreds of people show up to get fresh, local produce.
“We started the garden when we were awarded funds from Eat Smart Move More South Carolina from their Let’s Go 3.0 grant in August 2018. We were able to receive funds to start the garden through the Tri-County Health Network and the Regional Medical Center, our fiscal agents,” a press release from Growing COB states.
The staff of Orangeburg County has supported Growing COB through the donation of multiple compost bins and additional resources.
Those who’d like to volunteer in the community garden can sign up at the following link: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/70a094daaaf28a6ff2-winter
The organization to date has been fortunate to partner with the following:
- Bamberg County Community Rural Art Works League
- Caring Always Matters Foundation
- Clemson Extension
- Eat Smart Move More SC
- Jamison’s Pharmacy
- Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4
- Orangeburg County
- Orangeburg County Library, Orangeburg Branch
- Orangeburg County Soil & Water Conservation District
- South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
- South Carolina State University, Department of Biological & Physical Sciences, Environmental Action Group
- Small Business Development Center
- Southeastern Housing & Community Development
- Regional Medical Center
- Tri-County Health Network
- USC Arnold School of Public Health
In the past, Growing COB partnered with the Smart Box Food Pantry and Amazing Grace Ministries to distribute water in Denmark. They’ve also held spaghetti dinner fundraisers to help sustain the garden.
To keep up with the organization’s activities, follow Growing COB on Facebook.
To learn more about Growing Calhoun, Orangeburg, Bamberg, visit the website: https://growingcob.wixsite.com/scfoodaccess.
Members of the organization meet monthly at various locations in Calhoun, Orangeburg and Bamberg counties. Those who would like to attend the meetings are asked to email GrowingCOB@gmail.com.
Feb 18, 2019 | HYPE Civic Action Projects, News
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) is partnering
with the 7th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church
to teach teens about the Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project and to
help guide them through a public health project that focuses on healthy eating
and/or active living in their churches or communities. Up to ten HYPE teams from
the AME’s Young People’s Division (YPD) programs around the state will be
selected to receive up to $1,000 each to implement their project.
“Providing our youth with opportunities to form leadership
skills and to then use those skills throughout life to better their church and
communities is what our YPD is all about,” said Dr. Ila McFadden, YPD Director
at the 7th Episcopal District of the AME Church. “The HYPE Project will
influence our youth to become leaders in public health and to consider health
equity as being just as important as all other inequities in life.”
Currently, African-Americans experience disparities in
access to healthy and affordable foods and safe places for physical activity,
which are key factors in reducing obesity. To help rectify such disparities, selected
HYPE teams will help their churches and communities by completing projects,
such as community gardens, advocating for healthy eating and/or active living
policies with their church, disability and inclusion for physical activity
spaces, and healthy concessions/vending.
“The faith community has a long history of meeting the needs
of their congregations and local communities, and this is especially true for
African-American churches,” said Trimease K. Carter, Manager of Youth
Engagement at ESMMSC. “This means the AME church will have an even larger
impact on health equity and youth development.”
The 7th District covers all of South Carolina with close to 675
churches and 556 YDP organizations. The YPD program reaches more than 6,600 youth in South Carolina. Their focus it to provide meaningful
youth training programs and opportunities for leadership experience in all
areas of church life, as well as to advocate for the integrity of childhood and
the dignity of all children and youth in the religious, civic, and political
structure.
“Our partnership with the AME Church seems like a natural fit
because we both have missions that address increasing opportunities for those
in need in our communities. We’re looking forward to working with these youth
and forging a great partnership with the 7th Episcopal District of the AME
Church,” said Carter.
Once the HYPE teams are selected, ESMMSC will provide the
HYPE curriculum training at the YPD Retreat on March 8 in Columbia. Afterwards,
the teams will return home and begin the process of choosing their project,
working with church and community leaders, and implementing their plans.
For more information about the AME partnership, visit our youth engagement page.
Nov 19, 2018 | Impact, News
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina has approved nine grants in its first Let’s Go! 3.0 grant cycle to community coalitions seeking to provide residents with access to local healthy options.
Eat Smart Move More Allendale County is reactivating the Allendale County Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project Team to plan, create, and promote a safe walking path that will allow Town of Allendale residents to access the local grocery store and farmer’s market. Youth will educate and mobilize other youth to become engaged in the pedestrian planning process and to advocate for social changes that are necessary to have the citizens of Allendale County make active living a priority in their lives.
Tri-County Health Network in Orangeburg is partnering with South Carolina State University and the Regional Medical Center to create two self-sustaining, organic community gardens. The gardens will continue the momentum and success of five establish school gardens and fight food deserts. Produce will be given to patients of a local pharmacy and used in the Regional Medical Center’s Diabetes Prevention Program cooking class.
Eat Smart Move More Richland County is revitalizing and enhancing two parks in Columbia – Crane Creek Park and Lorick Park. Fun Fitness Station stencils will be painted on walking tracks, making walking more interactive and fun. Health events will be hosted at the parks to educate neighborhood residents and community centers on the importance of physical activity and to encourage them to use the revitalized parks.
Eat Smart Move More Kershaw County is increasing access to the Kershaw County Farmer’s Market by creating way-finding signage. The market relocated to downtown Camden, and the signage will help residents and visitors find the market.
Eat Smart Move More Barnwell County is building a disc golf course in the Town of Williston. Residents indicated a need for family-friendly physical activity resources in the town. In addition, the Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project Team will make improvements to walking tracks in the towns of Williston and Blackville by cleaning up the areas, painting lines, and landscaping. They will also advocate for an open community policy at the Williston walking track, and clean up the Williston-Elko Middle School playground.
The Alliance Collaborative in Horry County is working with the Horry County School District to adopt and implement the South Carolina School Boards Association’s model policy for open community use. The policy allows community residents to use outdoor playgrounds, tracks, courts and other outdoor recreational facilities located on school property.
Eat Smart Move More Anderson County is working with the Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project Team to continue making Equinox Park in Anderson accessible to all residents, especially those with disabilities and special needs. Youth will help create a play space where all ages and abilities can play, learn, and explore the outdoors together, and interact with one another. The HYPE team will add two interactive sensory play panels installed at an appropriate height for wheelchair accessibility. The panels will be located near the Born Learning Trail and a shelter that will have an inclusive picnic table, grill, a solid paved pad with an access path.
Partners for Active Living in Spartanburg is installing a water bottle refilling station and drinking fountain at the trailhead of the River Birch Trail. The bottle filling station will be located on the edge of Spartanburg School District 7 property and will also serve community members visiting or using nearby athletic fields that are open to the public during non-school hours. The station features a convenient way to grab tap water to go and includes a handicapped-accessible fountain, as well as a ground-level drinking fountain for dogs.
Shady Grove Baptist Church in Greenville is fighting food deserts by expanding and enhancing an existing community garden to provide fresh produce for older members of the church, church members having financial problems, and those in need in the community.
ESMMSC will be awarding more community grants over the next two-and-a-half years to help community coalitions in South Carolina identify and address barriers to healthy eating and active living. In January and July of each year, coalitions will be able to apply for mini-grants to fund small-scale projects. The grants are made possible through funding by The BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
For more information about the Let’s Go 3.0 initiative, visit www.eatsmartmovemoresc.org. To find healthy resources in your community, visit www.letsgosc.org.
Jul 18, 2018 | Impact, Mini-Grant Projects, News
By Laura McKenzie
The People-Sentinel
Talyah Washington, 6, and King Rivera, 7, may not have understood what the blue ribbon was for to officially open an “all-inclusive” playground last week. They just wanted to have fun.
They also may not have realized that the person who was the instigator for the playground is an 8-year-old little girl with big dreams.
Talyah was born with Down Syndrome. King suffered a traumatic brain injury four years ago in a car accident. Despite cognitive and motor skill challenges, both are children who love to play.
The playground located at Lemon Park in Barnwell started with a question raised by Izzy Brandt to her parents, Stephanie and Shaun Brandt. “I took her to a Buddy Walk about two years ago. It’s a fundraising walk for kids with special needs,” Stephanie said. That experience made an impression on young Izzy who also has made friends with one special needs child.
Then, one day about a year ago they were at Lemon Park and Izzy noted that there wasn’t any playground equipment for kids with special needs. “They want to play too,” she told her mom.
Izzy and Stephanie contacted Pam Davis, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Barnwell. Davis thought about the idea and decided to write a grant proposal to the S.C. Parks and Recreation Department (PARD).
She was notified that a grant for $12,000 was approved “but that was not enough for this type of playground.”
Axis 1 came to the rescue with a $10,000 grant through the Eat Smart, Move More Program.
The partnership resulted in the purchase and installation of a multi-level climber, “Cozy Cocoon”, seesaw, congos, and cabassa.
“The multi-level climber is where kids of all abilities can play,” explained Davis. “It helps improve motor skills, coordination, strength, and dexterity. This leads to self-achievement and greater self-esteem.”
Read the Full Article
May 15, 2018 | Impact, Mini-Grant Projects, News
KELSEY ALLEN, MPH, CHES
“To see a child who doesn’t have what their little heart cries out for, that’s what saddens me. There needs to be something for those children. We need to have something to serve those with disabilities in our community,” says City of Laurens Councilwoman Sylvia Douglas.
Councilwoman Douglas first brought up the idea of having inclusive play equipment in the City of Laurens 10 years ago. At that time and until this year, there was no play equipment like this in the City of Laurens. One of the barriers that she was facing in seeing this move forward was cost.
According to Councilwoman Douglas, hospitality tax can often offset the cost of this equipment as it is a draw for parents of children with special needs, who live outside of the city, to bring their children to use the City of Laurens parks. Today, she is thrilled to know that there is a now a swing for children with physical disabilities at Little River Park in Laurens. It is her hope and intention that there will be more to come.
“I think this shows that we are enlightened to this issue and we are looking out for this part of our community,” she says.
Brie Holmes, Chair of the Eat Smart Move More Laurens County, is also excited for this wonderful resource to now be available in Laurens.
“Opportunities for physical activity should not be exclusive to those without physical limitations or special needs. Inclusion and accessibility should be included in every discussion around our built environment, playgrounds especially. Healthy adults start as healthy children, and healthy children get outside and play! Every child deserves that opportunity.”
Creating change in our communities is possible with perseverance and partnership. This would not have been possible without the support of the mayor and city council of Laurens. Additionally, the city administrator, the Laurens County Disabilities and Special Needs Board, and ESMM Laurens County also supported this project. If you feel passionate about seeing these types of changes in your community, be encouraged that change often doesn’t happen quickly, but it is certainly possible.
Thank you, Councilwoman Douglas and the rest of the City of Laurens for this great addition to the parks!
