HHCC gains grant for 'Your Plate, Your Health' program

By BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

Grants were a major topic of discussion at Tuesday?s Healthy Henry County Communities (HHCC) meeting.

During the meeting, Kelly Carr, Healthy Communities coordinator, announced that the HHCC did not get approved for a $7,500 mobile grocery grant from Wellmark. Despite not receiving the mobile grocery grant, the HHCC did receive a grant through the Henry County Hospital Foundation for $2,600. This money will be used to support the Your Plate, Your Health program that HHCC participates in with various local restaurants.

Another grant that was discussed during the meeting was the Community Transformation Grant. According to Carr, the grant money has now been totally spent, effectively ending the grant?s use to HHCC. Some various items bought with money from that grant include bike racks that have been stationed around Henry County as well as some white boards used in health classrooms at local high schools and various projects the HHCC promoted.

Kelly Carr also updated the HHCC board on the progress of the $50,000 Telligen Grant that HHCC has applied for. With this grant, HHCC could fund medical transportation by paying SEIBUS to come to Mt. Pleasant for an additional two days. Having the bus come those two additional days would allow HHCC to have public transportation for a variety of trips.

?This grant was submitted in July and we have not heard any news as to who was awarded the grant. Pervious awards from Telligen have been announced in December, so we are likely going to have to wait for a little longer,? said Carr.

Also on the agenda was some discussion about the upcoming Healthy Halloween Walk/HHCC 15 Year Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 19.

?It should be really fun for the whole family,? said Carr. ?We will have a whole lot of activities for the family to enjoy and it should be a great way to celebrate current programs that Healthy Henry County has, but also show the community the positive impact of our programs like our healthy eating programs.?

The event will be held at East Lake Park from 2 to 5 p.m., with games, face painting, balloons, fun health and fitness booths, a spooky tent, inflatables, healthy snacks and other fall activities for people to enjoy.  There will also be a golf contest and a walking trail to partake in. Those wishing to come are also invited to wear their Halloween costume.

Also happening in conjunction with HHCC?s event is the Mt. Pleasant Chamber Alliance?s Barktober Fest. The fest will have activities for all dogs and their owners. Admission is free.

The last major item of discussion was HHCC?s new website. The new site has been live since Sept. 29, but there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out and additions that need to be made before it is fully completed.

?This new site is much easier to update than our old website, so we will be able to keep it current and put so much more on there,? Carr explained. ?I also tried to make everything easy to see and the site easy to navigate.?

After giving the board a short tour of the website, the board agreed unanimously that the website is a great improvement and that the overall look and content was in line with what was needed for HHCC.

To view the website, go to www.healthyhenrycounty.org. The website will have current information about all of HHCC?s upcoming events and activities.

The next HHCC board meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m., in the HCHC Health Education Center.