LA’s Best (Los Angeles)

Request: LA’s BEST respectfully requests renewed and continued grant support from the AdvoCare Foundation to apply against costs associated with the delivery of nutrition education and physical activity programming during the upcoming fiscal year: July 1, 2020—June 30, 2021. LA’s BEST serves 25,000 children who are surrounded by the elevated risk factors, as described by the Foundation. Since 2016, the AdvoCare Foundation has partnered with LA’s BEST to address all three main pillars of childhood obesity through grant support of the organization’s BEST Fit program and Annual Family Health Festival. LA’s BEST requests the continuation of this powerful partnership in the upcoming year.

COVID Response: Supporting the food & supplies distributions taking place through the school district, and doing professional development for all program staff via an online training system so that they are prepared to help reintegrate the children when they return to school - as well as retain our critical part-time workforce and help ensure their financial stability for the moment.

Servicios de la Raza (Colorado)

Request: Our greatest need is for flexible financial donations that we can use to support our participants over the next few months and continue Salsa, Sabor y Salud program to provide healthy food and nutrition programming to the primarily Spanish-speaking communities in Colorado.

COVID Response: We also pivoted our prevention services model while continuing to support families with food and other basic needs and expanded access to care efforts. They are assisting also with the digital divide, housing and medical care.

United Way Healthy Zone Schools (Dallas/Ft. Worth)

Request: United Way respectfully requests continued support for the implementation of Healthy Zone Schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Healthy Zone Schools works to provide resources, expertise, and financial assistance to schools to create and sustain healthy environments for their students. Specifically, $25,000 in funding would support the implementation of the program in two schools in North Texas. This support will continue to strengthen and amplify each campus’s overall health and wellness programming and activities for staff, students, and families. Efforts will lead to more active, healthier students and ultimately have a positive impact on levels of academic achievement and attendance. For the 2020-2021 school year, we are not planning on admitting new schools. There will be 34 schools who be in their second or third year of the program.

COVID Response: Started a community relief fund to cover emergency needs of front line response

YMCA (Dallas)

Request: Support to continue Healthy Cooking Program model that will (1) operate in conjunction with our FIT and Get Up & Go programs and (2) continue to expand cooking classes into our branches to serve families in other YMCA programs. This component offers cooking demonstrations at partnering non-profits and community locations, with the intent for these demos to translate into registration for our programs and cooking classes.

COVID Response: The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas sees a critical need to provide emergency childcare to families who work in essential services, food distribution in low-to-moderate income communities, pop up supply distribution for necessary personal items and baby care, and virtual learning opportunities for preschoolers and teens.

Vetri Community Partnership (Philadelphia)

Request: Continued support of our programming: EAT360, Culinary Medicine, Vetri Cooking Lab and Mobile Kitchen providing programming in more than 75 Philadelphia area schools and organizations, and serving more than 20,000 adults and children each year.

COVID Response: Preparing meals for essential workers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania - goal is to provide meals for 60 families twice a week for a total of 480 meals per week for the next 4-6 weeks; virtual programming.

Mission 2 Move (Cincinnati)

Request: Mission2Move would like to continue its work with Cincinnati Public schools in order to continue to fill the void of physical education and improve academic performance and the social/emotional behavior of the students through movement and mindfulness. Our evidence based program is now being extended into all of Cincinnati Public Schools preschool students.

Mission2Move preschool program provides PE to 2,000 Cincinnati preschoolers and 540 students.

COVID Response: Continue virtual programming

Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta

Request: Continued support Healthy Lifestyles programming at Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA). Our 20 Clubs, located in ten counties across Atlanta, offer fitness and physical literacy programming, and preventative health and wellness initiatives that promote healthy habits and combat the rising epidemic of childhood obesity. Programs include league sports, cooking and gardening, and wellness programs that help our members analyze how to make become action and goal-oriented, how to develop and maintain healthy relationships with peers, and help our members learn about sexual health.

COVID Response: Programs virtual, helping with food assistance/mobile food pantries in underserved areas and digital divide.

C.H.O.I.C.E.S. (Atlanta)

Request: Not gotten clearance to reopen the Community Teaching Kitchen but hope by the end of May. Increased need to provide nutrition education, healthy meal preparation, assistance with accessing fresh fruits / vegetables and personalized food guidance. 

COVID Response: Continuing the live "Pantry Talk" cooking classes using recipes from our Pantry Talk Cookbook for families on Facebook and Instagram; providing an additional cooking class on Zoom specifically for public school teachers in Atlanta, Fulton or Cobb counties; start a virtual 3-week Cooking with CHOICES series on June 2nd for families that have been referred to us by the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Fulton County Department of Health.

Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi

Request: The purpose of this funding request is to strengthen the partnership between The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi (The Partnership) and the AdvoCare Foundation through Just Have a Ball® (JHAB) childhood obesity prevention and fitness program that aims at reducing the rate of childhood obesity through physical activity, nutrition education and family engagement. It is the goal of The Partnership to reach as many children and families with our health and wellness initiatives. The much needed funds will allow us to expand our services to reach more vulnerable children in Mississippi, and work together to instill healthier lifestyle behaviors.

COVID Response: Offering program virtually and looking at options to help get balls and information to families since not in school

Iowa Healthiest State Initiative

Request: The Healthiest State Initiative is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization driven by the goal to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation. By engaging worksites, communities, schools, retail food, organizations, institutions and individuals, the Healthiest State Initiative hopes to inspire Iowans and their communities to improve their health and happiness, and ultimately achieve their goal. The Healthiest State Initiative has applied for a grant to continue funding for 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count - 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count! is a nationally recognized and evidenced-based prevention framework to promote healthy habits. The goal is to increase physical activity and healthy eating through policy and environmental change.

COVID Response: Providing virtual programming and food access

The Concilio (Dallas/Ft. Worth)

Request: Our mission over the last 40 years has led our services to the low-income Latino, Spanish-speaking communities of North Texas. The pandemic of COVID-19 presents a very real danger to this community because they are lacking correct information in Spanish regarding the virus and guidelines for staying safe. Additionally, those we serve live in significant poverty. The loss of a paycheck due to sheltering in place may very well mean the loss of nutritious meals.

COVID Response: Our request is for immediate funding to support a check-in and rapid response program for our client families to ensure they have accurate information, nutritious meals, supplies, and supports in place to see them through this crisis.

Alliance for a Healthier Generation (Tennessee)

Request: The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is appreciative of the opportunity to submit our funding request to the AdvoCare Foundation in support of building healthy schools in Jackson, Tennessee. The purpose of our request is to further the achievements of 20 Jackson-Madison schools with the assistance of Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program to benefit the health and well-being of more than 12,000 students for the 2020-2021 school year.

COVID Response: Providing virtual programming