Tagged: Faith Based

Healthy Savannah’s Faith and Health Coalition Hosts April 21 Faith Walk at Lake Mayer

(SAVANNAH, GA) Healthy Savannah’s Faith and Health Coalition will host a free community event to celebrate health, wellness and springtime fun on Sunday, April 21 at Lake Mayer Community Park. Those planning to attend are encouraged to RSVP at https://www.punchbowl.com/parties/39cba6fa531bc8c713f8

Called “Faith Walk” and co-sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the event will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Lake Mayer pavilions, located at 1850 E. Montgomery Cross Rd., The activities will include a variety of healthy resources and giveaways for adults and games for kids such as corn hole, jump ropes and Hula-Hoops.

“We’ll be giving away 100 grocery bags from Forsyth Farmer’s Market, courtesy of Anthem, and CORE will be on hand with free COVID vaccinations for underinsured and uninsured adults,” said Ruby Castro, Nutrition Program manager. “Representatives from GirlTrek, Black Girls Do Bike, and Black Girls Run are also expected to be on hand with exciting information about those programs and to help show off the benefits of walking and bike riding.”

Attendees will also be able to participate in a healthy walk around the Lake Mayer trail which provides a connection point to the Truman Linear Park Trail. Those who wish to receive a free COVID vaccine are encouraged to register in advance at https://curogram.com/registrations/6164217118fe6d009fed44c1

“Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal that inspires us to reconnect with each other,” said Pastor Yolanda Roberson, executive pastor at Kingdom Life Christian Fellowship and chair of the Faith and Health Coalition. “It is both refreshing and exciting for the entire community to join with those from our faith-based organizations to enjoy fellowship and healthy activities together.”

Healthy Savannah’s Faith and Health Coalition is a sub-committee of Healthy Savannah, formed in 2014 to support faith-based organizations in implementing policies and programs that promote health. The Coalition strives to help elevate the health and wellness of the community through funding from an initial $3.4 million, five-year CDC Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant awarded in 2018 and a second five-year, $5.1 million REACH grant awarded in 2023, both administered by Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia.

“We’ll additionally share the latest news about the scheduled completion of the Truman Linear Park Trail as well as updates on the entire Tide to Town urban trail system project,” said Armand Turner, Healthy Savannah’s deputy director, who also serves as the Friends of Tide to Town board president. “We are making great strides now that the City has brought a project manager on board, and we are also working with City staff on an official agreement between Friends of Tide to Town and the City of Savannah that outlines how the two entities can work together to ensure the trail system is constructed and maintained with equity and health in mind.”

Friends of Tide to Town is a nonprofit organization formed in 2017 to advocate for the development and promotion of Savannah’s Urban Trail System through community engagement activities.

Construction of the final three-mile stretch of the Truman Trail from DeRenne Avenue to 52nd Street is expected to get underway later this year. Once completed, it will fully connect the Lake Mayer Park Trail Loop to the Daffin Park Trail Loop, creating nine miles of continuous off- and on-road bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure through the heart of Savannah. The entire Tide to Town project is expected to connect 75% of Savannah’s neighborhoods to safe walking and biking infrastructure. It will include a network of 30+ miles of bikeable and walkable trails connecting more than 60 neighborhoods and 30 schools in Savannah and Chatham County, from downtown to the marshes and waterways.

In November, Savannah City Manager Joseph A. Melder appointed Tina Bockhold to take over management of the Tide to Town project, which received an additional $10 million in funding from the City Council last fall due to an increase in the hotel/motel tax and $8 million that was approved in February for construction of Phase IIB of the Truman Linear Park Trail. Bockhold, with 10 years of experience as a traffic engineer for Chatham County and the Georgia Department of Transportation, will manage all phases of the project design and construction.

Healthy Savannah’s online Healthy Walks map, https://healthysavannah.org/our-programs/physical-activity/healthy-walks-story-map/, shows trail routes all across Savannah and Chatham County. Trail users are encouraged to share walk experiences by tagging photos and videos with #activepeoplehealthysavannah, #activepeople and #HealthyWalk.

ABOUT THE YMCA OF COASTAL GEORGIA/HEALTHY SAVANNAH GRANT FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY HEALTH: In September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a second grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) to Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. $5.1 million in funding is being deployed over a five-year period to be utilized in an “upstream” approach to foster sustainable health equity among racial and ethnic minority populations in low-wealth neighborhoods in areas of nutrition, physical activity and the reduction of chronic diseases. The renewed funding enables work to continue which began under the initial, five-year, $3.4 million REACH grant awarded in 2018, and a supplemental grant awarded in 2021 to increase awareness and acceptance of COVID-19 and flu adult immunizations. Working with more than 200 community partners and organizations, the Savannah/Chatham County project team’s specific goals in implementing the new five-year grant include fostering physical activity by creating greater access to safe places to walk, run, bike and play; elevating the health and wellness of the community through policy, systems, and environmental change; and providing education and awareness regarding adult immunizations, especially as they relate to health disparities in chronic conditions of hypertension, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity. The administrators will also continue to foster stronger connections between people and the healthcare providers who serve them by supporting awareness and use of the HERO Help Me database. In July 2022, Healthy Savannah received the CDC’s 2022 REACH Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award for Advancing Health Equity Challenge. The award recognizes extraordinary individuals and entities whose work has contributed to advancing health equity.
healthysavannah.org ymcaofcoastalga.org.

MEDIA CONTACT
Marjorie Young
Carriage Trade Public Relations® Inc.
912.844.9990
www.carriagetradepr.com
marjorie@carriagetradepr.com

Healthy Savannah’s Faith and Health Coalition Hosts Faith Walk at Lake Mayer July 16

(SAVANNAH, GA) The Healthy Savannah Faith and Health Coalition will host a free community event to celebrate health, wellness and summer fun on Sunday, July 16 at Lake Mayer Community Park.

Called “Faith Walk” and co-sponsored by Forsyth Farmers’ Market’s Farm Truck 912, the event will be held from 5:30 until 8:00 p.m. at the Lake Mayer pavilions, located at 1850 E. Montgomery Cross Rd., and will include a variety of healthy activities.

“As a faith leader, I think it is refreshing and exciting to have the entire community join us for this walk for faith-based organizations and their congregations where we get to enjoy healthy food and fun,” said Pastor Yolanda Roberson, executive pastor at Kingdom Life Christian Fellowship and Faith and Health Coalition co-chair.

Farm Truck 912 is scheduled to be there, hosting a healthy cooking demonstration featuring fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables right off the truck. Plus, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Georgia will sponsor 100 fresh produce bags to be provided to families that attend the event.

Attendees will also be able to participate in fun activities such as a healthy walk around the beautiful Lake Mayer trail which provides a connection point to the Truman Linear Park Trail. There will be games for kids, such as corn hole, jump ropes and Hula-Hoops. Participants will have the chance to win three $50 gift card vouchers for the Forsyth Farmers’ Market.

Representatives from GirlTrek and Black Girls Do Bike will also be on hand with exciting information about those programs and event organizers will provide an update on the Tide to Town Urban Trail system.

“We’ve worked hard to make this event positive and fun for the whole community,” said Rhonda Barlow, Faith and Health co-chair and School Nutrition coordinator for Savannah Public Schools. “We want everyone who can, to come eat good food and walk with us.”

Healthy Savannah’s Faith and Health Coalition is a sub-committee of Healthy Savannah and was formed in 2014 to support faith-based organizations to implement policies and programs that promote health. The Coalition strives to help elevate the health and wellness of the community through funding from the five-year, $3.4 million grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health administered by Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia.

ABOUT THE YMCA OF COASTAL GEORGIA/HEALTHY SAVANNAH GRANT FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY HEALTH: In September 2018, Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia were awarded a five-year, $3.4 million grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health. Awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the funding is being deployed in an “upstream” approach by the Savannah/Chatham County project team to foster sustainable health equity among Black residents in low-wealth neighborhoods. The aim of the local project, called Healthy Opportunities Powering Equity, or HOPE, is to increase the availability of high-quality nutrition; promote physical activity through creating greater access to safe places to walk, run, bike and play; and foster stronger connections between people and the healthcare providers who serve them. Working with more than 200 community partners and organizations, the team is committed to elevating the health and wellness of the community through policy, systems, and environmental change. In July 2022, Healthy Savannah received the CDC’s 2022 REACH Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award for Advancing Health Equity Challenge. The award recognizes extraordinary individuals and entities whose work has contributed to advancing health equity.
healthysavannah.org ymcaofcoastalga.org.

MEDIA CONTACT
Marjorie Young
Carriage Trade Public Relations® Inc.
912.844.9990
www.carriagetradepr.com
marjorie@carriagetradepr.com

Healthy Savannah’s Faith and Health Coalition Hosts First Health Fest

Healthy Savannah’s Faith and Health Coalition Hosts First Health Fest

(SAVANNAH, GA) The Healthy Savannah Faith and Health Coalition, formed in 2014 to help faith-based organizations implement policies and programs to promote a holistic health culture, hosted its first citywide health festival.

Health Fest

Lillian Grant-Baptiste, Health Fest Committee Chair, and Paula Kreissler, Director of Healthy Living and Community Development at Healthy Savannah at the first annual Health Fest.

The event, called Health Fest, was held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Thankful Missionary Baptist Church.

Health Fest included health screenings, informational lectures, wellness and fitness demonstrations, children’s activities, entertainment and food samplings among other things.

“Our first Health Fest was a success,” said Paula Kreissler, Director of Healthy Living and Community Development at Healthy Savannah. “We hope that this event will only grow and continue annually to promote the importance of health and faith in Savannah.”

The faith and health coalition is a part of Healthy Savannah, a non-profit 501©3 public/private coalition of more than 150 businesses, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, schools, neighborhood organizations and healthcare and government agencies that was formed in 2007.

Visit www.healthysavannah.org for more information.

ABOUT HEALTHY SAVANNAH
Healthy Savannah, a 501©3 public charity is a public/private coalition of over 150 businesses, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, schools, neighborhood organizations, and healthcare and government agencies, It began as an initiative of City of Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson, formed in 2007. Healthy Savannah leads and supports a culture of health in the Savannah area by creating an environment that makes a healthy choice the easy choice; building a collaborative network that identifies and shares resources; collecting and disseminating information, promoting best practices and implementing innovative programs, and advocating for effective policies. Since its inception, this innovative, cross-sector collaboration has vastly benefited the community as evidenced by numerous multi-agency projects, grants and policy initiatives that have emerged from the initiative to create and sustain a Healthy Savannah. For more information, visit www.healthysavannah.org