Community Partner Award funding through the Des Moines Valley Health and Human Services-Nobles Statewide Health Improvement Partnership is currently available. Funding is intended to support partners implementing policy, system and environmental changes. Projects are required to focus on healthy eating, physical activity/active living, mental health/well-being and tobacco prevention efforts. The Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (or SHIP) has been around for about 15 years. Forty-one Community Health Boards covering 87 counties, plus the cities of Bloomington, Edina, Richfield, Minneapolis and St. Paul and 10 tribal governments, encompass SHIP. From the beginning, the goal has been to support community-driven solutions to expand opportunities for active living, healthy eating and commercial tobacco-free living. In 2022, the local SHIP public health team worked alongside 43 community organizations, 15 schools, 12 worksites and 11 health care facilities, with more than 44 percent of these partners implementing at least one project. This equated to more than $30,000 in Community Partner Award funding. Those seeking more information or who are looking to apply for funds may contact DVHHS’s Luke Ewald at (507) 847-6930.
