Ocean County YMCA, Coalition Receive $200K Grant For Healthy Living

Toms River, NJ -- The Toms River Family Health & Support Coalition, led by the Ocean County YMCA, has been awarded a $200,000 grant to help bring a bigger focus on long-term health to Ocean County, according to New Jersey Health Initiatives.

NJHI, the statewide grantmaking program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, announced the grant to the YMCA-led coalition and nine others on Thursday.

The grants are part of an effort to "make the Garden State a healthier place for people to live, learn, work and play," according to the announcement.

“This is a terrific opportunity for communities across the state tell us what their biggest health challenges are and how they are collaborating across sectors to address them,” said Bob Atkins, director of NJHI. “Our Round One grantees are already putting innovative ideas into practice. This second round of grantees increases our spread across New Jersey for a strong Culture of Health to take root.”

In Ocean County, five coalition members, representing sectors including healthcare, community residents, social services, public health, philanthropy, and education, participate in a leadership program and will share the skills and tools from it to "strengthen the coalition’s capacity to make long-term change in their community," the NJHI says on its website.

The goal is to create "a Culture of Health in Toms River," the NJHI said.

The other organizations receiving the four-year grants in 2016 are:

• Cape Regional Medical Center, serving Cape May, Cape May County
• Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation, serving Hunterdon County
• Meadowlands Transportation Brokerage Corp (Meadowlink), serving Asbury Park, Monmouth County
• Ocean County YMCA, serving Toms River, Ocean County
• Raritan Bay Area YMCA, serving Perth Amboy, Middlesex County
• Rutgers University – Camden, serving Bridgeton, Cumberland County
• Somerset Healthcare Foundation, serving Bound Brook & South Bound Brook, Somerset County
• United Way of Greater Union County, serving Plainfield, Union County
• United Way of Passaic County, serving Paterson, Passaic County
• Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, serving Greater Freehold, Monmouth County

The coalitions are eligible to receive a total of $200,000 over four years to develop and implement a Blueprint for Action in their communities, the announcement said. They must also raise matching funding in the final two years of the grant to ensure the work continues beyond four years, it said.

The grants are part of a statewide effort by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to build what it calls "a Culture of Health, where health is a core value and where everyone has the opportunity to live the healthiest life possible."

"This vision recognizes that many factors influence health—including poverty, environment, opportunities for education and jobs, safe and affordable housing, availability of nutritious food and places for physical activity, and access to health care, child care, and social services—creating the need for action within and across sectors," the organization said.

To learn more about the first round of Building a Culture of Health in New Jersey – Communities Moving to Action visit njhi.org. To view videos about work already underway visit NJHI’s YouTube channel.