For this blog post, we’re organizing project examples by these categories: Activity-Friendly Communities, Access to Healthy Food, Healthy School Environments and Youth Engagement.Staff share their expertise, or technical assistance, within several sectors of community: municipalities, state agencies, coalitions, schools, faith-based organizations and other nonprofit organizations.
Below is an incompletelist of community-level projectsWholespirehas supported with mini-grants. The list features examples of PSE projects implemented by various communities across South Carolina. All focus areas marked with an asterisk (*) indicatea level of partnership and collaboration with local government and regulatory agenciesrequired to complete the projects.
Activity-Friendly Communities
Activity-friendly communities are vibrant spaceswhere people of all ages and abilities can easily and safely enjoy walking, bicycling, rolling and other forms of active transportationand recreation.Communities must be thoughtfully designed and include policies, systems, and environmental supports that allow daily active transportation and recreation.
Focus Area
Project/Tactic
Items Funded
Bicycle and Pedestrian Routes and Trails
Provide adequate signage to improve pedestrian safety
Safety signs, paint and other tools
Install way-finding signage
Signs, posts, hardware and installation costs
Create maps of community/ neighborhood walking and biking routes
Purchase outdoor exercise system equipment/stations
Parks, Playgrounds and Other Recreational Facilities
Provide bike racks at recreational facilities, schools, and businesses
Purchase and installation costs
Provide benches at parks, paved walking paths, playgrounds, ADA picnic tables, etc.
Purchase and installation costs
Improve park/recreational facilities
Recreational equipment such as basketball goals, soccer goals, playground equipment, balls, and other needs
Create inclusive play spaces for people with disabilities
Sensory panels, inclusive swings, and other inclusive play equipment; ramps, braille and sign language signs; accessible drinking water fountains/water bottle refill stations
Improve accessibility and ADA compliance
Rubber mats for playgrounds, ADA signs, ramps, and other needs
Create or upgrade a community basketball court
Land grading, concrete, basketball goals, paint, stencils, supplies to repair cracks on surface
Create a disc golf course
Disc golf backets, disc golf frisbees, equipment needed for installation
Paint and supplies for curbs, crosswalks and other safety areas
Effective Student Pick-up and Drop-off Design
Signs to define areas in drop-off and pick-up zones and explain their proper use
Enhanced Visibility Crosswalks/ re-painting of crosswalks leading to the school
Stencils, paint, supplies
Crossing Guard Supplies/Safety Equipment
Reflective vests, stop/go handheld signs, portable stop/go/slow signs and other safety equipment
Improve school traffic safety during drop off and pick up
Supplies for road surface markings, curb markings, delineators, colored pavements, and traffic channelizing devices, lights for portico
Access to Drinking Water
Ensure drinking water is available in public spaces
Water bottle refill stations, accessible drinking water fountains, water fountains featuring a dog bowl
Access to Healthy Food
Access to healthy food refers to the availability, affordability, and consistency of foods and beverages that promote well-being and prevent chronic disease. Areas that lack access to healthy foods are known as food deserts. Ensuring access to healthy food is an important element of an equitable food system, one in which those most vulnerable and those living in low-income neighborhoods, communities of color, and rural and tribal communities can fully participate, prosper, and benefit.
Focus Area
Project/Tactic
Items Funded
Farmer’s Markets
Establish new farmers’ markets
Sandwich boards, employee/farmer aprons, SNAP/WIC processing equipment and Wi-Fi hot spots, signage, SNAP/WIC promotional signs
Increase access for people with disabilities
Paint and signs for parking, materials and supplies for curb ramps
Mobile markets
Accept SNAP, WIC, Senior SNAP and Healthy Bucks
SNAP/WIC processing equipment and Wi-Fi hotspots, SNAP/WIC promotional signs
Community Gardens
Create or expand a network of community gardens
Materials to build gardening beds: lumber, cement blocks, planting soil, mulch; Water meter and backflow gauge, signage, Gardening tools (rakes, hoes, etc.), tiller
Other food access projects
Provide free gleaned produce stations at a local, public facility
Shelves, baskets, bins and other food storage supplies, chalkboard signs
Healthy School Environments
Promoting healthy eating and active living in the school environment is crucial for the overall well-being of students and staff. When students have nutritious meals and are physically active, their performance and attention span reflect those elements of healthy school environments. A healthy school environment applies to the indoor and outdoor environments of the school and the surrounding environments.
Paint and supplies for curbs, crosswalks and other safety areas
Effective Student Pick-up and Drop-off Design
Signs to define areas in drop-off and pick-up zones and explain their proper use
Enhanced Visibility Crosswalks/ re-painting of crosswalks leading to the school
Stencils, paint, supplies
Crossing Guard Supplies/Safety Equipment
Reflective vests, stop/go handheld signs, portable stop/go/slow signs and other safety equipment
Improve school traffic safety during drop off and pick up
Supplies for road surface markings, curb markings, delineators, colored pavements, and traffic channelizing devices, lights for portico
Access to Drinking Water
Retrofit and install safe water sources
Water refill stations, water fountains, accessible water fountains
Transform the physical environment to increase students’ PA and other pro-social learning and play behaviors
Improve outdoor playground equipment
Purchase PA equipment, such as slides, swings, ladders, and various climbing structures for students to interact with; upgrade basketball goals
Increase the variety of outdoor play options
Add painted play spaces or markings to the playground
Create active pathways in hallways and walkways
Stencils, paint and other materials
Create inclusive spaces for people with disabilities
Purchase grip volleyballs, ringing volleyballs and other specialty balls and play equipment for kids with disabilities, smooth surfaces likes rubber mats
Create an Outdoor Classroom
Picnic tables, benches, and other materials
Youth Engagement (The HYPE Project®)
Engaging youth in community health improvement can be a driving force for change. Through the Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project®, youth develop critical thinking skills, build relationships with community stakeholders and have fun learning practical ways to create policy, systems and environmental (PSE) changes. Youth can implement any of the projects mentioned above; however, below are examples of HYPE civic action projects Wholespire has funded.
Focus Area
Project/Tactic
Items Funded
School-based PSE Projects
Mobile Breakfast Carts
Food cart, wrapping for cart
Improve pedestrian and bicycling safety of students
Supplies for conducting a walkability assessment
Community-based PSE Projects
Update a local park
Benches, trash receptables, benches, paint and supplies, park signs
Upgrade a community basketball court
Basketball goals, paint, stencils, supplies to repair cracks on surface
Playground improvements
Volleyball net, disability swings, trash receptables, benches, paint and supplies, park signs
Nestled between Oconee State Park and Lake Keowee in Oconee County, students at Tamassee-Salem Elementary School are reaping the benefits of active pathways, also known as sensory pathways, and blacktop games, and so are community members. In 2022, former Physical Education Teacher Leah Ryan made it her mission to give the students, teachers and community an outlet for brain breaks and fun physical activity. She applied for a Wholespire Healthy Eating and Active Living Mini-Grant and got it!
Sensory pathways have become a popular tool for school administrators and teachers to help students stimulate their cognitive activity with movement. They are a series of visual cues on the ground that guide students along a particular path. From jumping, leaping, and walking a line, students follow the guided paths for a fun break between classes, during indoor recess and other ways teachers choose to incorporate them into their lesson plan.
In his letter of support, Tamassee-Salem Elementary School Principal Bobby Norizan said, “What I love about this initiative is that it is sustainable, and simply put, it is something that will help make physical activity more enjoyable. We have several families use our walking track outside of school hours, but I feel like we will be providing more opportunities other than simply walking the track if we are able to add the active pathway activities.”
Principal Norizan said, “The Four Square games not only provide an opportunity for physical activity but also opportunities for students to socially interact within the rules during active play, which is vital regarding the developmental growth of their students.”
Tamassee-Salem Elementary School received funding for the purchase of reusable stencil kits and paint. They leveraged 12 hours of volunteer time to place and paint the pathways. Pathways were placed on the walking path, a paved sidewalk that circles the school. Four Square games were placed in the recess area.
Mrs. Ryan said in her application, “A couple of teachers use the path as a brain break for their students. This active pathway will encourage more teachers to take their students outside more, and students will get to benefit from the open play. I teach students how to play Four Square in my physical education class. It is an easily accessible and simple game to play. Having the courts will give students access to a physically active game they can play at recess.”
Community members in Tamassee and Salem who use the walking path for physical activity benefit from the active pathways too. The School District of Oconee County adopted an Open Community Use Policy, which allows community members to use outdoor recreational facilities on school grounds for physical activity and play. Now, children aren’t the only ones who can jump, leap and walk a line as they navigate the path. Adults can too!
Physical activity is not just a vital component of a healthy lifestyle; it also plays a crucial role in academic success and overall well-being, especially in the school environment. More and more school administrators and teachers are emphasizing the integration of physical activity into the daily lives of students. Administrators and teachers at rural Tamassee-Salem Elementary School are part of the growing innovation in creating healthier school environments.
Where can I walk or play since my road is so busy and not safe? Don’t have a safe place near you? What if you can’t afford a gym membership or there isn’t a gym in your hometown? Those are questions that community members of Kershaw County no longer have to ask themselves. Options for safe physical activity and safe places to play have increased, thanks to the Open Community Use of School Recreational Areas policy recently adopted by the Kershaw County School District (KCSD).
The school district will begin opening some of its outdoor school recreational areas for community use after school hours, on holidays, and on weekends when the facilities are not in use with school-related activities. The board defines open recreational areas as “the playgrounds at our elementary schools and parking lots for walking.”
KCSD will post signage at the open community use sites that will include district rules and safety regulations for usage of the recreational areas. Children under the age of fourteen must be accompanied by an adult while at the recreational sites.
“This is a win for schools, children, and the community. It provides access for children and community members to play and be active,” stated Kershaw County School District Superintendent Harrison Goodwin. “We know healthy children are better learners. This is a great example of partners working together for a healthier community.”
Many community partners support open community use including LiveWell Kershaw, KC Trails, Wholespire Kershaw County, and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC). Wholespire Kershaw County worked closely with Kershaw County partners to advocate for the OCU policy.
“It’s a cost-effective policy adopted by many school districts around the state to increase access to safe places for physical activity,” said Wholespire Community Relations Manager Kelsey Sanders, MPH, CHES. “An important part of the policy is that protects against liability for schools, which is a major concern of administrators.”
SC DHEC Midlands Community Systems Team Member and Wholespire Richland County co-chair Robin Cooper said, “I was grateful for the opportunity to partner with Kershaw County Schools. Physical activity is important for better health outcomes and many don’t have access to places to be physically active. With the adoption of this policy, it offers the residents of Kershaw County the opportunity to engage in physical activity for better health outcomes.”
In February 2019, the University of South Carolina Lancaster (USCL) applied for a Let’s Go! 3.0 mini-grant to increase access to its outdoor recreation amenities by adopting an open community use policy and to continue its active community environments work with Wholespire Lancaster County, formerly Eat Smart Move More Lancaster County.
The partners had completed several community health improvement projects that increased access to healthy opportunities. The mini-grant would help complete their vision while focusing on the Clinton community, a Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) in the City of Lancaster. QOZs are characterized as economically distressed communities defined by the census tract.
Existing projects that needed to be completed were:
Improvement of the built environment in the Clinton neighborhood by extending bike lanes and crosswalks and offering a loop to the Lindsay Pettus Greenway, which improved access to the USCL campus.
USCL public health students conducted an assessment on student on-campus walking behaviors. They used the data to develop walking routes for anyone to utilize while on campus.
USCL’s recreation facilities were open to the public (including trails, walking routes, tennis courts, picnic pavilion, 5K starting point, bike lanes, and crosswalks). However, the promotion of these facilities has been limited to word-of-mouth.
The Gregory YMCA began managing the operations of the University-owned recreation facility. USCL secured funding for the YMCA to provide sliding scale financial assistance to income-eligible YMCA members on a long-term, sustained basis. Approximately 400 Lancaster residents utilize this benefit from the YMCA, many of whom live in the nearby Clinton community.
Let’s Go 3.0 mini-grant funds were used to:
Hire a professional designer to create a campus map of outdoor recreational facilities open to the public, which included the student-design walking routes.
Purchase and install way-finding signs that promote the open use amenities and walking routes.
Promote the open community use agreement policy to the community. Promotional strategies included issuing a press release to The Lancaster News, posting the press release on USCL’s website and social media, and announcing the existence and availability of these community resources at USCL’s student orientation and Clinton Elementary School’s Parent Night.
Purchase bike racks for the Lindsay Pettus Greenway trailhead in the Clinton community and the USCL campus.
Initial Challenges
For USCL, the challenge wasn’t creating new opportunities for physical activities, it was promoting the ones they already had. The USCL campus has seven buildings, a YMCA in the physical education building, tennis courts, and about a mile and a half of natural path trails.
“We’re very community-oriented, and there’s a lot of word-of-mouth advertising. This is how a lot of small towns, small communities go. We just assume that people know things, but we’re only reaching our own social circles,” explained Lauren Vincent Thomas, professor of health promotion education and behavior at USCL.
The first step was passing an open community use agreement. “When we learned about the Let’s Go 3.0 mini-grant to promote and pass an open community use agreement, I felt like we kind of already had it, we just hadn’t set it as a policy,” said Thomas. “In reality, people use the trail and the tennis court IF they know that they can, but it wasn’t widely known information.”
During the initial conversation with university leadership, they said people already knew about the trails. Convincing them that the project had value was most of the battle with the project. According to Thomas, “Wholespire had this great manual that answered all of my questions. I felt very equipped and confident when the Education Foundation asked about liability.”
A Snowball Affect
Before this project moved to the next steps, debris that was dumped in front of trails was cleared. “It just sent a message that we didn’t care about the campus,” Thomas said while explaining how things like debris deterred people from using the trails. “After that, it was just about updating some features and showing what the campus had to offer. The website was updated, billboards with maps were placed in prime positions, and trail markers and entrances were added.”
Once the project was started, more opportunities were uncovered. “We found money to put split rail fencing up to show off the trail and leveraged funding from another grant to put bike racks in, and we worked with the South Carolina Wildlife Federation to certify that we had a wildlife habitat,” said Thomas. “It reminded us of what we had and gave us the opportunity to share with other people.”
Thomas’ favorite part of the project has been connecting with people who are readily willing to offer their own gifts, talents, and resources.
“We just needed to give them the opportunity and generously thank them for what they offer. For example, we partnered with, an organization in our community that builds ADA ramps for seniors and people who have disabilities, to build a new bridge on one of the trails. They were willing to do this project for us for free as long as they got the credit. There is so much creative generosity in our community. Now, our partners feel like the trails are just as much theirs as it is USC Lancaster’s and that’s exactly what we want.”
New Conversations
The students on campus have been enjoying the positive changes the project brought. The picnic shelter has seen new light now that people know it’s there and university organizations have been enjoying the cleared trails. An outdoor club put in geocaches and monitors them to add new prizes and F3, a male CrossFit group, uses the trails for Saturday morning runs.
The project has also affected conversations about the university’s 10-year Master Plan. “This mini-grant project has primed us to have that bigger conversation about walkability in our community,” said Thomas. “There is a four-lane highway between USC Lancaster’s campus and downtown Lancaster that could benefit from a crosswalk or pedestrian bridge!”
Thomas is hoping this project is the start of making the community more bike- and pedestrian-friendly.
