May 15, 2018 | HYPE Civic Action Projects, Impact, News
TRIMEASE K. CARTER, MSW
Over the past three years, community leaders in the small town of Clover, located in York County, have been motivated to make their community healthier. They’ve been taking steps to increase access to healthy foods and physical activity in various settings. Even a group of teens at Blue Eagle Academy joined the movement to impact their school community and surrounding neighborhoods positively.
The York County Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) team, made of up of students at Blue Eagle Academy who are also members of the Boys and Girls Club of York County, are focusing on increasing access to physical activity at their school and Junior Eagle Academy. They formed in 2015 as a result of the Let’s Go! South Carolina Initiative.
During the first phase of their HYPE project, they completed a beautification project in the courtyard of their school to create a more pleasant and safer environment. Through this project, which was a continuation of an initiative initially started with Lowe’s Home Improvement, youth refurbished flowerbeds, donated outdoor vases and plants and cleaned overgrown areas. Students can now enjoy outdoor activities in the courtyard.
In addition to the beautification project, the Youth Team donated portable play equipment to the Junior Blue Eagle Academy, which serves grades 3-5. During a planning session, the HYPE Team learned there wasn’t enough play equipment available for all of the students, so they wanted to do something to help. The team used some of their available funds to donate soccer balls, playballs, basketballs, hula-hoops, a flag football set, and storage equipment to the Junior Academy.
According to their lead adult advisor Rasheeda White, “When we presented the equipment to the school principal and lead teacher, they were surprised and happy to receive it. The students were happy too!”
Due to the successes of their first project, the HYPE Team received additional support for a continuation project to focus on a track and field located between the two schools. The school district has an open community use policy, which allows community members to outdoor recreational areas outside of school hours. Because the community uses the track and field for physical activity, and students use it during and after school, the HYPE Team knew they wanted to make improvements.
The HYPE Team recognized that keeping the dog-friendly area clean helps attract more walkers and runners, so they made cleanliness a high priority. In addition to the team keeping the area clean with litter pick-up on Thursdays, they will soon be adding doggie waste stations equipped with bags for dog walkers to use. The team will also be making basketball court improvements, such as purchasing and installing new nets and goals.
The York County HYPE Team is a true testament to the effectiveness of youth engagement. Not only did youth take the appropriate to steps to successfully advocate for outdoor improvements, but they also learned the importance of social responsibility and helping others.
Apr 17, 2018 | HYPE Civic Action Projects, Impact, News
For decades, youth have led social movements across the United States. They’ve been in the news a lot, lately, speaking out against and for issues that are important to them. But, did you know that youth have been leading a healthy eating and active living movement here in South Carolina? It’s called the Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project, and youth are finding out just how powerful their voices are, especially in Laurens County.
Through a community health improvement project, the Laurens County HYPE Team, hosted by Bridging the Gap Advocacy, a non-profit that addresses youth development, and in partnership with Eat Smart Move More South Carolina, recognized that their community isn’t as safe as it should be. They identified one of many important areas of need: safe passages near Sanders Middle School.
Like many adult-led community coalitions, youth ranging in ages 12-17, set out to make a difference in their community. They conducted a walkability assessment near Sanders Middle School, developed an action plan, and rallied to present their findings and request for improvement to the Laurens County Council. Youth asked County Council to make the area surrounding the middle school safer for students to walk, through the addition of sidewalks, street lamps, stoplights, crossing guards, and signage. Council agreed to purchase warning signs near the school. This success was just the tip of the iceberg, and they’re not giving up on the rest of their safety requests. They want to encourage decision makers to do more to make the area safer around the school.
These up-and-coming young leaders in Laurens County are continuing their mission of making their community a healthier place to live. They’ve already worked with a local master gardener, started a community garden, and given the harvest to residents. Plus, they received permission to revitalize an abandoned baseball field and built community support for improvements to make it a safe place to be physically active. Bridging the Gap Advocacy has held kickball tournaments and other physical activity events for the community at the new and improved field.
Youth plan to follow up with County Council regarding requests for making school safety a priority; host an after-school walk to Bridging the Gap Advocacy and invite decision makers to participate; start a petition regarding improvements near the school; and design and send postcards to decision makers regarding the need for improvements.
Through the HYPE Project, middle- and high school-aged students are learning how to become effective advocates for change in their communities. There are currently 13 HYPE teams in South Carolina; the majority of these teams are focused on safe and accessible places to be physically active and nutrition. Youth like the Laurens County HYPE Team are making change happen!
Mar 8, 2018 | Impact, News
Mar 8, 2018 | Impact, News
Over the past three years, six communities participated in the Let’s Go! South Carolina initiative, implementing strategies across multiple sectors to increase access to healthy foods and physical activity. Coalition members from each of the six communities – Anderson, Barnwell, Hampton, Kershaw, Laurens, and York counties – gathered recently to learn about their impact and to celebrate a job well done.
“We are so proud of the impact the Let’s Go! SC project has had over the past three years,” said Beth Franco, executive director of Eat Smart Move More South Carolina. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and leadership from these six coalitions.”
The Let’s Go! SC evaluation team spent a rigorous amount of time collecting data on the community projects to determine impact. The six communities had an impressive collective impact:
- $1.3 million leveraged through grants, donations, and matched funds
- 36,327 students have access to healthier school environments due to partnerships with Alliance for a Healthier Generation
- 24,736 SNAP recipients in three counties now have access to fresh produce at farmers’ markets
- 43,985 people live within a mile of a park or path enhanced by a coalition
- 17 parks, playgrounds, and trails were improved
- 75+ youth were trained through the HYPE project
Evaluators also determined individual community impacts, which can be found here.
“Community work can be hard,” said Hannah Walters, senior project manager at ESMMSC. “Change always takes longer than we want or expect. But, the Let’s Go project has shown us just how rewarding and impactful incremental changes can be in a community. Whether it’s bringing a new partner to the table or getting a new trail installed in your community, we know that success comes in all shapes and sizes.”
The Let’s Go! South Carolina Initiative was funded by the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Nov 16, 2017 | Impact, Mini-Grant Projects, News
Published in the Chronicle-Independent
November 10, 2017
Tall Longleaf pines stood silent guard as the first official hikers took to the Sweet Gum Trail in Camden on Tuesday afternoon. About 50 people participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the official opening of the 2/3-mile trail that now connects Scott and Woodward parks.
Tuesday’s ceremony took place at the Woodward Park trail head. Visitors entering the park from Chestnut Ferry Road just off West DeKalb Street can make a right turn after passing the park’s tennis courts and find the trail head next to a baseball field at the end of the road.
The 10-foot wide, paved trail winds through woods behind Woodward’s baseball fields, running just a few feet away from the railroad that cuts through the city near West DeKalb Street’s Donald Holland Bridge over the tracks. The Amtrak station can be seen through the trees at one point. The trail continues around behind the park before coming to a point where it heads straight toward Scott Park off Battleship Road.
That trail head meets Scott Park’s unpaved walking/running track. Hikers, runners and bikers wanting to use the Sweet Gum Trail from Scott Park will need to make their way nearly half-way around the track to meet the trail.
City Manager Mel Pearson welcomed guests to the short ceremony saying he knew the track was wide enough to accommodate both walkers and bikers at the same time.
“I know that because a young lady on a bicycle lapped us five times the other day while we got from one end to the other and I think there were a couple of walkers who lapped us also,” Pearson said.
Pearson said the Sweet Gum Trail marks the completion of Camden and Kershaw County’s first steps in creating a truly county-wide trail system connecting other trails and parks across the county.
“This is the first of that county wide plan. Now, I don’t want you to underestimate Kendall Park; it’s a very nice, half-mile trail over there. It’s a rubberized surface, but this trail has a lot of potential to be connected to other trails in the parks and we’re excited about the beginning here,” he said.
Pam Spivey, of Eat Smart Move More Kershaw County (ESMMKC), ebulliently declared Tuesday’s ribbon cutting a “dream in the making for years.”
“(We) used $65,000 in grant funding to hire all the planning to put together a county-wide pedestrian greenways plan,” Spivey said. “This plan was adopted by our city government and county government and because of that, decisions around existing upgrades and new construction … have allowances for our pedestrians, our parks, our streets. All these things are worked out before these projects begin.”
Spivey said the collaboration between ESMMKC, the city and county is why there is now an “amazing” opportunity.
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