Eat Smart Move More South Carolina invested at least $43,219.48 into mini grant projects that addressed healthy eating over the course of a three-year project supported with funds from BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina Foundation. Fourteen projects were completed in eleven different communities.
One of the many successful projects includes the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind….
Unforeseen Advantages The South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind is the only school in South Carolina that serves deaf, blind and multi-sensory disabled students. The school serves almost 1600 students statewide, with 175 students living on campus Monday through Friday. “As a residential school, our students spend a lot of time with our staff and, like all children, they emulate the behaviors they see. If we want them to eat healthier and exercise, we need to include our staff,” said the Director of Development, Weslie Higdon. With this in mind, the Pathways to Healthy Living project was started at the school with a grant from the JM Smith Foundation in 2018. The overarching goal of the project was to encourage staff and students to live healthier.
This project started with a healthy snack initiative in the first year and then moved onto the Fountains of Health, which consisted of buying water bottles for everyone and adding water bottle filling stations in various locations on campus. “We had no idea that the pandemic was coming so it was just like serendipity that this great project was able to work in a way that we didn’t originally think of to keep our students and our staff safe,” Alice Lang, the Grants Coordinator, reflected on the project. 30 water bottle filling stations were added to the campus, four of which were installed with the Let’s Go 3.0 Mini Grant.
Reactions to the Fountains of Health A lot of the problems they encountered were technical things in the older buildings. The campus was first built in 1849 and one of the water fountains that was replaced with a filling stations was installed in 1969. Some of the ideas they had in mind for the filling stations weren’t feasible due to the way the buildings were originally built. Weslie and Alice praised their contractor, Cooler Dude, for solving the problems that they never envisioned being a problem.
Another filling station was installed in Walker Hall, where 700 water bottles were filled between August and December. Needless to say, the project has been a huge hit among students and staff, especially since the water fountains weren’t able to be used due to COVID-19. Weslie’s favorite part “was when everyone came back to campus and saw them. I had a teacher tell me ‘We were worried that we were going to have to work with them on it, but they were so excited, they just walked right up to it and started filling up their bottles, they were so glad that they finally had one in that school.’”
The other two filling stations are outside by the track, an area Weslie and Alice thought would have to be put on hold. The campus isn’t currently open to the public, but once they open back up, the campus welcomes community members and hosts sporting events like soccer, football, and goalball, a game designed for people with blindness! Weslie is sure the outside filling stations will be popular among the community members. “The welcome center gets calls every day about if the track is open yet so I know that when we do allow people back on campus, it will get used a lot. It’s so nice not to have to cart your water or watch how much you drink or forget it in the car and have to go back and get it.”
Next Steps This is the final year of funding for the Pathways to Healthy Living project, but the project will still move forward to encourage students and staff to live healthier. Projects for the spring will depend on how COVID-19 pans out, but Alice is sure the project will last past the funding. “Next steps will really be about sustainability. Many of our students are considered low income, and many of the families we work with are struggling to put food on the table right now. They don’t have time to sit down and teach them about nutrition and exercise and the importance of drinking water so that’s a vital role that we play here in instructing our students and giving them an example, so I’m sure that administration will continue with this, maybe with different projects, but it needs to be sustained”
Healthy eating and active living opportunities are essential to the quality of life for every single individual regardless of their socioeconomic status. This is true for those who experience substance use disorders too. In fact, healthy eating and active living are life skills that people in recovery need to lead a quality, sober life. That’s one reason why Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) decided to fund Keystone Substance Abuse Services’ Let’sGo! 3.0 mini-grant proposal.
“The Keystone project is an example of ESMMSC trying to address equity and access,” said Kelsey Sanders, MPH, CHES, community initiatives manager at ESMMSC. “When I think of equity, I think of giving people what they need to be successful. Patients at Keystone needed a safe and clean walking path to achieve success in managing not only their recovery, but also their physical and mental health.”
Making the Case for Keystone When ESMMSC reviewers scored the Keystone mini-grant application high, staff took a serious look at the application and weighed the benefits of choosing to fund an organization that doesn’t reach a large number of people compared to a proposal that does. Historically, ESMMSC funds organizations that can have a large impact on community health, but the Keystone application gave staff a new perspective.
Keystone is York County’s largest provider of treatment and prevention services. It’s also one of four public
AFTER: A clean, safe place to exercise
withdrawal management programs in the state, so they often serve patients from across the state of South Carolina, not just York County residents. Also, many of their patients are either uninsured or underinsured, meaning patients largely represent a low socioeconomic class – a group at high risk for physical and mental health problems.
“If patients can learn physical activity habits during their stay, these individuals can have a sustainable option for reducing depression and anxiety, increasing self-efficacy, decreasing stress, increasing coping skills, and ultimately providing individuals with a positive, sober alternative activity,” said Danielle Russell, executive director of Keystone Substance Abuse Services. “Not only will physical activity help in their recovery, but it can teach individuals lifelong skills that will reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve optimal health and wellness.”
Despite this clear link between physical and mental health, organizations that address mental health and physical health largely remain siloed from each other. This project, while a nontraditional partnership for ESMMSC, represented an opportunity to bridge the connection between mental and physical health. ESMMSC staff saw the Keystone project as a direct link to social determinants of health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion – ESMMSC’s core values. By funding the Keystone project, ESMMSC staff realized the lasting impact they could have on people with substance use disorders and those close to them.
From Mud Pit to Clean Path
Keystone had a partially paved walking trail loop (.25 mile) on their campus, but it was rundown and oftentimes turned into a mud pit when it rained. Even under the unsafe conditions, counselors would try to get patients outside as often as possible for some extra stimulation and therapy. Keystone staff wanted more for their patients and themselves. They wanted to complete the loop so that their patients could thrive, and their staff could also focus on their personal health.
A Keystone inpatient counselor said, “One of the biggest complaints I get from some of the patients is that they are feeling lethargic once they start to feel better. Keeping them indoors with minimal exercise seems to exaggerate those symptoms. Many have specifically said that just getting their body moving and being outdoors helps them feel better overall (physically and mentally). We try when it’s nice out just to get them to take a walk, and often those are some of the best groups we have. It seems to support the theory that physical activity and sunshine provide essential therapeutic components.”
According to their application, physical activity is a part of an individual’s life that is often lost during their addiction. Physical activity can help individuals find their path to recovery. Evidence shows that physical activity can help provide structure to their days, generate positivity, distract them from cravings, and heal their body and brain.
A New Path to Coping
Keystone completed their walking trail loop, and now, patients and staff have a safe place to exercise, to meet, and to cope. All of the staff interviewed indicated they take their patients outside to walk the loop, and they’re seeing positive changes.
An Inpatient Clinical Counselor said, “I take patients out there as often as possible. Walking, having group time and individual time with patients helps decrease stress and anxiety and patients open up more.”
An Inpatient Technician and a Substance Abuse Specialist said, “I will take patients out on the trail in the afternoons and after dinner, if the weather is good. They are so glad to get outside. There are times when they compete and walk very fast, skip or hop to exercise, and have fun.”
Employees Benefit Too
ESMMSC knows the importance of employee health and wellness – that includes mental health too. Worksite wellness programs and policies lead to improved health of employees, decreased health care costs, and improved productivity. So, when the Keystone application mentioned worksite wellness, it was one more very good reason to fund their proposed project.
Before the project was completed, employees noted having to jump mud puddles and other obstacles on the loop or just choosing to walk the parking lot near a busy street. Now, they find the loop to be pleasing and beneficial.
“I use the path for afternoon walks and utilize the entire track. If our power goes out, or I find time I use it at other times as well,” said the Outpatient Programs Administrator. “Walking was the recommendation of my heart doctor. It helps clear my mind. I step away from the computer and it helps me stay focused on the moment.”
“I go for a walk every afternoon around 2:00. It gets me ready for the final two hours of the workday to get energized for the afternoon. One to two laps revitalize me. I wish I had time to walk more,” said an Outpatient Clinical Counselor.
The .25-mile walking trail loop can be used by people of all ability levels, and it gives patients and staff an opportunity to walk, jog, or just enjoy fresh air. What’s next for the Keystone walking trail loop? Build fitness stations along the trail to increase strength and conditioning, and possibly lighting for late evening walks.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.”