Jul 1, 2020 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, News, The HYPE Project
How do you serve breakfast to students when the campus is large and spread out and breakfast in the cafeteria just isn’t cool? You take the food to the students. That’s what students involved in The HYPE Project, teachers, and cafeteria staff did during the 2019-2020 school year with a Let’sGo! 3.0 mini-grant from Eat Smart Move More South Carolina.
According to nationwide studies, breakfast participation is a struggle at many schools, and White Knoll High School is no different. At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, only 7% (140 students) of the student population (2,000 students) ate breakfast at school. Why?
- Students arrive late and miss the breakfast window.
- Students aren’t hungry at 7:30 in the morning.
- Students are social and prefer to meet up with friends.
- There is a stigma associated with eating breakfast at school.
- The campus is large and spread out, so the cafeteria is out of the way.
“Students need well-rounded, nutritious meals to get them to the lunch hour, and that can be pretty late in the day for some students,” says Kelly Blevins, food service manager at White Knoll High School. “Sure, White Knoll has vending machines, but we all know they don’t have the healthiest choices.”
The consequences of going hungry in the morning or choosing sugary or salty vending machine food and beverages equal poor classroom performance, poor test scores, and poor behavior. By eating breakfast, those indicators can be easily turned around.
Second Chance Breakfast, aka Fast Break
Second Chance Breakfast is a nationally tested and proven program that offers a breakfast break in the morning, often after first period for older students in secondary schools. Food carts are strategically placed throughout the school stocked with healthy breakfast options for students, faculty, and staff to purchase by swiping their student ID card. Blevins heard about the program from Lexington School District One leadership and thought it would be worth the try.
With district leadership on board, Blevins needed to get support from faculty and staff, which she did; however, the most important stakeholders she needed approval and support from were the students. Enter Public Health Teacher Amber Morris, MPH, and her public health students.
Center for Public Health and Advanced Medical Studies
Lexington School District One provides students with opportunities to prepare for careers in specific areas through the Centers for Advanced Study. Located at White Knoll High School, the Center for Public Health and Advanced Medical Studies is a three-year, six-semester program in which students spend two blocks each semester of their sophomore through senior years exploring public health and medicine.
Teacher Amber Morris, MPH, is actively involved in the public health profession. Through her contacts, she learned about the Eat Smart Move More Lexington County chapter. At a meeting, she learned about The HYPE Project and the Let’sGo! 3.0 mini-grant opportunity, so she applied to fund a HYPE team. After learning about the Second Chance Breakfast program from Blevins, the two teamed up with public health students to plan and launch the Fast Break program at White Knoll High School.
“When Amber came to me and told me that her students wanted to help us, I was excited. It was great to see that these girls knew and understood that nutrition is one of the most basic things you need to cover and so they helped make it their own, which is great,” says Blevins.
Blevins had already purchased four food carts, so the HYPE team decided to use part of their mini-grant funding to purchase a fifth cart, which meant more access to the stations and more students served.
“Our latest lunch is at 1:30 p.m., so if you can’t have breakfast in the mornings, you’re probably going to be pretty hungry by the time lunch comes around,” says Zoe, a 17-year-old student and HYPE team member. “So, we wanted to provide for those students who got there a little later or who weren’t hungry at 7:30 in the morning.”
Blevins also teamed up with the digital arts classes for logo and food cart graphics design. “It was incredibly important to me to let these kids know the program is for them. Their teacher was so wonderful to help us out. It didn’t seem like too big of an ask. They created the Fast Break logo and the vinyl wrap for the carts.”
Youth Voice is Powerful
If breakfast isn’t cool in the minds of teenagers, how do you get them to even consider breakfast at school? You use your existing partnership with the HYPE team and the digital arts students to spread the word. The students took ownership of the Fast Break program.
To get community and student buy-in, the HYPE team planned a taste test during the Town of Lexington’s Kids’ Day community event and at freshman orientation. With the help of Blevins, Morris, and some key partners, the HYPE team met at a local commercial kitchen and prepared yogurt parfaits prior to both events.
“The Dairy Alliance is a huge supporter of our project, and they provided all of the yogurt, and Senn Brothers provided the strawberries,” says Morris. “The Town of Lexington didn’t charge us for the space at their event.”
On coordinating space at the Kids’ Day event, 17-year-old Tayla says, “It wasn’t too difficult. I went to the Icehouse Theatre website to find the contact information. I emailed the contact and introduced our group and our project. He was all for it. It was a lot of fun interacting with the people, and it was a good social experience.”
At freshmen orientation, the all-girl HYPE team presented the Fast Break program to the new students and their parents. They manned one cart and provided healthy food samples. This was an effort to educate incoming students on the program and prepare them for what to expect in high school.
The team also helped with the kickoff, which was planned in September shortly after the school year started – a strategic move that allowed time to promote the program and prepare students.
“We wanted to get started, get the students acclimated, and then do a big opening. On the day of the kickoff, we had everyone from Lexington One Food Service come out. Sara (a HYPE team member) contacted the media and invited them to attend. We did a lot of promotional activities to prepare the students,” says Morris.
A New Breakfast at White Knoll – Flip or Flop?
September 16th rolled around, and the students and cafeteria staff were ready. According to Grace, “It wasn’t popular in the beginning, but now I know a lot more people who are using it. It really increased in popularity and use as time went on and people learned more about it.”
Grace went on to explain that students appreciated the Fast Break stations and reported back to her that it allowed them to think better in their classes. Blevins also mentioned positive feedback from teachers. Some teachers reported students weren’t complaining about being hungry or asking for a snack.
Seventeen-year-old Shavey says, “I remember on opening day, a lot of students were excited about it and kept asking their teachers when it would open. It was extremely popular.”
The Fast Break program received overwhelmingly good reviews, and the data speaks for itself. “We went from serving 7% (140 students) of the student population in September to serving on average between 26% and 27% (520-540 students) of the student body prior to school closing due to the coronavirus,” says Blevins. “Most of that (the purchases) was happening during that Fast Break time, so we were really happy with that jump in participation.”
The cafeteria also experienced an increase in breakfast purchases during their 7:30 a.m. breakfast service. Blevins explained that in the past, not all of the breakfast items were purchases. Since the Fast Break program, some items in the cafeteria were being sold out. Perhaps, the stigma associated with eating breakfast at school was lifted for many students.
Planning Makes Perfect
The Fast Break stations were open to any student, faculty, or staff member, and cafeteria staff only had a 15-minute window to serve and swipe ID cards. A lot of strategic planning happened prior to launching the program, from food packaging and classroom trash can capacity to station placements and timing.
The cafeteria remained open during the Fast Break time, so students in the vicinity could dash in and buy breakfast items. Students on free or reduced lunches are only allowed to purchase one breakfast, so if they ate during the 7:30 a.m. breakfast and were still hungry at 9:45 a.m., they were required to purchase food with cash in the cafeteria.
Due to time and technology, cash, debit, and credit cards were not accepted at the food stations, but there’s a solution for that! Parents could add money to the students’ cafeteria account, giving them the opportunity to swipe their student ID card and pay for a Fast Break breakfast.
A New Perspective
Remember the district-wide program the Center for Public Health and Advanced Medical Studies? Sara, an 18-year-old public health student enrolled in the program, is a student at River Bluff High School. She was taking public health classes at White Knoll High School and was a member of the HYPE team that worked on the project.
“I feel like I learned a lot because I do go to River Bluff and it’s on the opposite side of town as White Knoll. I didn’t know there were that many people on free or reduced lunch (30%+) and that breakfast was an issue because I don’t see that at my home school as much just because of where I live,” says Sara. “So, doing this project helped me see what actually happens and how there are so many different sides of things. I felt honored to do this because I was able to help that part of the community that I go to half of the day. You need to help everyone in your community, not just those in your school because we all live in the same area. I live in the same district, but it’s so different.”
What’s Next?
Through the HYPE Project and the Let’sGo! 3.0 mini-grant, public health students had a huge impact on the lives of fellow students. They were able to implement a project that fed more students, improved classroom attitudes, and reduced stress.
Everyone involved in executing the Fast Break program is excited about the next steps for the program. Neighboring Gilbert High School heard about White Knoll’s success and they plan on implementing the program there.
“It’s been awesome to see how this program has grown into a huge project,” says Zoe. “It’s actually going to be implemented at Gilbert High School because it’s been so successful here. I’m really proud of it. It’s kind of like my baby, my child.”
According to Morris, the goal is for the Fast Break program to be implemented in every high school in Lexington School District One. When that happens, eating breakfast will be the cool thing to do at school.
Wellness Wednesdays Video
Fall 2019 Kickoff Promotional Video
The Let’sGo! 3.0 mini-grant opportunity was made possible through a grant provided to ESMMSC by the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Mar 20, 2020 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, 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 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, 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.
Jun 6, 2019 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, 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.
Jul 18, 2018 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, 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 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, 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!
Apr 17, 2018 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, News
Kelsey Allen, MPH, CHES
Manager for Community Initiatives
Sit and wait. That’s the usual routine for parents and guardians of car riders at most schools. Dropping off and picking up children takes a lot of time, especially for parents who like to get there early. Listening to the radio or catching up on social media burns time, but there’s a healthier alternative in Anderson School District 4.
Because Anderson School District 4 is a health-conscience school district, personnel had the bright idea of encouraging parents to get out of their cars and spend that precious wait time walking. How much more active would that make parents? How much of a good influence would it be on the children to see their parents out walking when they leave school for the day?
With this in mind, Anderson School District 4 partnered with Eat Smart Move More (ESMM) Anderson County and the United Way of Anderson County to create and post signage that encourages parents to get out and walk during this time of day. ESMM Anderson County was one of six communities selected to receive funding from ESMM South Carolina over a three-year period, through a grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Using these funds, 
ESMM Anderson County purchased and installed signs at schools in Anderson School District 4.
Five different signs prompting Did You Know questions and answers were created:
- Walking one mile can burn almost 100 calories.
- Walking one mile a day can improve your mental health, boost your mood, and make you feel more alert.
- You can burn 100 calories just by walking for 15 minutes.
- Walking decreases your risk for high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and leads to a longer life!
- Small changes make a big difference. Stop idling and get active!
Since the installation of the signs, school personnel have observed parents moving more during the pick-up wait time. School and community cultures of health are built on small steps such as these that encourage healthy behaviors, raise awareness, and decrease barriers. The partnership between ESMM Anderson County and Anderson School District 4 is a great example of two entities with a common goal can work together and come up with a creative solution. Here’s to a healthier District 4 and Anderson County!
![SC Communities to Benefit from Healthy Eating, Active Living Grant]()
Mar 23, 2018 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, News
The BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, has awarded Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) $800,000 over the next three years to support Let’s Go 3.0, which will increase the capacity of community coalitions in South Carolina to identify and address barriers to healthy eating and active living. Coalitions will be able to apply for mini-grants to fund small-scale projects that are needed to help catapult their healthy eating and active living initiatives.
“Over the past several years, we’ve noticed that community change doesn’t always require large sums of money,” says Beth Franco, Executive Director of ESMMSC. “Many communities in South Carolina, particularly our small, rural, or economically vulnerable communities, can leverage small amounts of money to make a significant impact on the health of their community. We believe that these mini-grant opportunities will be a key factor in making sustainable changes and improving lifestyle choices.”
The application process will be open to community coalitions that need assistance in implementing policy, systems, and environmental changes that will increase access to healthy, affordable foods and safe places to be physically active. The mini-grants, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, can be used to implement projects, such as adding bike racks downtown, beautifying neighborhood parks or trails, or supporting local farmers’ markets.
South Carolina has the 12th highest adult obesity rate in the nation (32.3%) and the eighth highest obesity rate for high schoolers (16.3%). Current trends nationwide and in South Carolina show rates beginning to stabilize, suggesting that obesity-prevention efforts over the past decade are beginning to pay off.
“The next few years will be critical to ensure that the progress we’ve seen continues and our collective accomplishments are not undermined,” said Franco. “Through this grant, we’ll be able to help close the gap in many communities and increase opportunities for residents to make healthy choices.”
ESMMSC staff will continue to provide training and support to local coalitions to strengthen their capacity to make lasting community change. ESMMSC’s work with community coalitions currently reaches 36 counties, covering 93% of the state’s population. Recent trainings and reports have included topics like disability inclusion, grant writing, race equity, and the economic impact of active communities.
For more information about the Let’s Go 3.0 initiative, visit our Let’s Go! Grants page or contact Kelsey Allen at kelsey@eatsmartmovemoresc.org. To find healthy resources in your community, visit www.letsgosc.org.
Jan 31, 2018 | Community News, Mini-Grant Success News, News
NEWBERRY OBSERVER
The City of Newberry unveiled two new accessible wheelchair swings recently at Marion Davis Park.
The swings, IP15 iSwings, are the first of their kind in the United States. Scott Sawyer, City of Newberry Parks, Recreation and Tourism director said that not only was it a great day in Newberry, but an even greater moment for the special needs community.
“This particular project started in the winter of 2015, so we’re about two years into this. Staff met with some parents of special needs children in spring of 2016 and in September 2016 the City established the first Recreation Accessibility Team,” Sawyer said. “Thankfully in November we secured a Parks and Recreation Development Fund Grant of $30,000. Once that came to fruition, we knew we could upgrade and get the best things for these kids and adults.”
The IP15 iSwings were manufactured by the Inclusive Play Company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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