Blue Cross Foundation Awards $528,000 in Grants to Improve Commun...( EAGAN Minn. June 16 /- The Blue C...),Health

EAGAN, Minn., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation recently awarded $528,000 in grants under two initiatives designed to improve the health of communities throughout the state -- $115,000 under Growing Up Healthy: Kids and Communities, $373,000 for Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans, and $40,000 in related grants.

Growing Up Healthy, a 10-year funding effort, nurtures the healthy growth and development of children under age five by supporting partnerships in communities across the state that connect children's health with early childhood development opportunities, safe and affordable housing and the environment. Healthy Together is a statewide grants program that addresses the mental health, social adjustment and integration of immigrants and refugees.

"We know that to grow up healthy, kids not only need health care, they also need stable and affordable housing, a clean environment and to be prepared when they start school -- the goals of Growing Up Healthy," said Joan Cleary, foundation vice president. "And we know that healthy communities have strong social support systems and civic engagement opportunities that bond people together -- goals of Healthy Together."

Recent grants include:

Growing Up Healthy: Kids and Communities

Minnesota Environmental Initiative, Minneapolis, $40,000 for Project Green Fleet, to reduce diesel emissions and rider pollutant exposure (known lung irritants and asthma triggers) by installing pollution control equipment on buses used to transport Head Start pre-schoolers in Stearns, Scott, Carver and Dakota counties.

Ready4K, Minneapolis, $75,000 for the Parent Empowerment Project to increase early childhood education knowledge of parents and care providers, and promote health awareness by training parent leaders from the Somali, American Indian, Latino, African American, and South East Asian communities in Minneapolis and St. Pa
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