Youth Service America and UnitedHealth have extended the application deadline for their UnitedHealth HEROES grant program to next Wednesday, November 2.
As of today, they still have more grants available than they have applications submitted for in 5 states: Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Kansas, and Rhode Island. Applications for this grant program will be reviewed on a state-by-state basis, so applicants are only "competing" against other applicants from their state. Learn more at www.YSA.org/HEROES
UnitedHealth HEROES program is a service-learning, health literacy initiative developed by UnitedHealthcare and YSA (Youth Service America). The program awards grants to help youth, ages 5-25, create and implement local, hands-on programs to fight childhood obesity.
The grants encourage semester-long projects that launch on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January 16, 2012) and culminate on Global Youth Service Day (April 20-22, 2012).
Schools, service-learning coordinators, after-school programs, non-profits, and students in the health professions located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply for the $500-$1,000 grants.
If you apply, you'll need an invitation code to access the application. When asked for an invitation code, enter UHH2011EXT. This deadline extension and invitation code is only valid for applications from 5 states: Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Kansas, and Rhode Island.
If applicants have any questions, please contact Amanda McDonald, YSA's Grants Manager, at amcdonald@ysa.org
Comments
kbritt (Karrey Britt) says…
Thanks for sharing this information! Sounds like a terrific grant program.
Yeoman2 (anonymous) says…
So why do we need "programs" to combat childhood obesity? The fault is irresponsible and disinterested parents. They allow their offspring to eat junk food from the fast food places instead of fixing healthy meals. They allow their offspring to drink gallons of sugar pop with no supervision. They go to the markets and buy pounds of unhealthy and fattening foods. No wonder there are obese kids. But are you going to fix anything by tossing money at it? I doubt it. The parents were raised in the same manner and are usually overblown blobs of flesh.
What is required is some education of the childern, forget the parents. Most disregard any attempts to fix this problem because they are so hooked on Big Macs and fries themselves.
This is a difficult problem, no doubt. But throwing money at it will not solve the problem of basically incompetant and disinerested parenting.
Marilyn_Hull (Marilyn Hull) replies…
"What is required is some education of the childern."
These grants are for educating children.
Yeoman2 (anonymous) says…
Marilyn: I read and re-read the article and I see your point now. My misinterpretation.
Is there any sort of oversight or quality assurance assigned to the receipt of these grants, in other words, does the applicant need to provide some information as to the nature of their work in achieving these goals? I always get unsettled when I hear about grants available, wondering who is funding them, and who is keeping a weather eye on the application and results of their work. There is a lot of fraud and misinformastion floating around in these days. Health issues are some of the worst offenders judging from all the hype on TV ads for various weight loss programs and "miracle" drugs for various afflictions, real or imagined..
Marilyn_Hull (Marilyn Hull) replies…
Sorry for the delay in replying.
Grants come from many different sources, some public, some private. These particular grants appear to come from a corporate foundation. Like all foundations, it is required by the IRS to check out the soundness of causes it funds. It probably also has a grant reporting system that holds grantees accountable for the way funds were spent and the outcomes achieved.
I completely agree with you that we should not "throw money at" problems. Responsible foundations don't do this.