New York Ag Connection - America's Promise Alliance Names New Healthy Schools Fund

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America's Promise Alliance Names New Healthy Schools Fund
New York Ag Connection - 11/16/2017

America's Promise Alliance, the nation's largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth, is extending the Healthy Schools Fund to communities working to create healthier school environments for all children.

As part of Together for Healthy and Successful Schools, a new initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), America's Promise will select three to five districts and/or community-level organizations that will receive up to $300,000 for two years to support existing collaborative efforts.

Through this work, America's Promise seeks to answer the following questions:

- What if every young person went to a school that focuses on academics as well as social and emotional development and physical health?

- How do we create the conditions to make it so all children, no matter where they are from, or how much money their family makes, has access to a school that helps them develop into well-rounded adults?

Recognizing that school-centered health intersects with many areas outside of education--housing, employment, transportation, and food access-- efforts should serve as a hub for cross-sector collaboration, youth and community engagement, and broader policy and systemic change. Selected grantees will display alignment with this vision and a proven ability to accelerate positive change for young people in schools and their communities.

"America's Promise has always believed that to support young people who are struggling the most, it takes approaches that focus on all of a child's developmental needs," said John Gomperts, president and CEO of America's Promise. "When communities have healthy schools young people experience greater health, achieve better academic outcomes, and in turn, impact the entire community. Our partnership with RWJF will enable us to help build demand among practitioners, community members, and decision-makers to make healthy schools the norm and create the conditions for every child to have a healthy, successful life."

Districts and organizations in the following 20 states are eligible to apply: Alaska, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

"To ensure all young people can seize educational opportunities, they need to be at their healthiest," said Jennifer Ng'andu, senior program officer at RWJF. "Research shows that healthy, nurturing, and safe schools help young people make the most of their education and that success leads to a healthier, longer, more successful life. RWJF launched the Together for Healthy and Successful Schools initiative in recognition of the critical connections between health, learning and long-term well-being."

To learn more about the America's Promise Healthy Schools Fund and to apply, visit www.americaspromise.org/healthy-schools-fund. Informational sessions about the grant will take place on Nov. 28 and Dec. 7. The deadline to submit applications is Jan. 22.

America's Promise Alliance is offering the America's Promise Healthy Schools Fund as a result of its grant award to lead the strategic action and alignment arm of the Together for Healthy and Successful Schools initiative.

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the initiative has the goal of advancing a more holistic approach to ensuring healthy, successful students; thriving communities; and a better future for everyone. America's Promise will work closely with its fellow grantees--Child Trends and Washington University in St. Louis -- which are leading the policy and research arms of the initiative, respectively.

In its role, America's Promise will activate and align existing and new stakeholders at both the local and national levels to support and build demand for healthier schools. America's Promise has partnered with five leading organizations -- ChildObesity180, Communities In Schools, FoodCorps, the National Association of Community Health Centers, and Turnaround for Children -- to provide support and work with communities to learn about successfully supporting health and well-being in schools.

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