West Virginia Press Association
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The Highmark Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2024-2025 School Grants Program, which will make available up to $500,000 for school grades K-12 in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The goal of this ongoing program is to create healthier school environments that result in positive, sustainable, and lasting change through comprehensive strategies.
“This multi-faceted program equips schools with resources that develop healthier and safer school environments,” said Highmark Foundation President Yvonne Cook. “The Highmark Foundation recognizes the value of early intervention and preventive health programs and appreciates the vital role schools play to promote students’ health, safety, education, and well-being.”
Public, private, parochial, charter schools, and vocational high schools throughout West Virginia and Pennsylvania are invited to apply for the following offerings of the Highmark Foundation’s School Grants Program:
PHYSICAL HEALTH
Schools are an important contributor to physical health, not only because they are where students spend majority of their days, but they are also the setting for health education, physical education, and breakfast and lunch meals. All of these contribute to strong physical health and help individuals develop lifelong healthy habits.
Highmark Foundation will provide grants up to $7,500 for programmatic activities including (but not limited to):
- Increasing physical activity.
- Healthy eating and nutrition education.
- Improving personal hygiene habits.
- Health promotion and disease prevention education.
SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH
Numerous studies have linked school-based health care to educational and health-related outcomes. Schools can contribute to increased use of vaccination and preventive services, reduced asthma morbidity, fewer emergency department visits and hospital admissions, and lower illegal substance use and alcohol consumption.
SOCIAL HEALTH
Recognizing that social health factors are an important part of a person’s overall health, programs under this category seek to connect students and families to the services and supports they need outside of the school community to be healthy. Highmark Foundation will provide grants up to $7,500 for programmatic activities including (but not limited to):
- Food security initiatives.
- Social-emotional learning and school connectedness programs.
- Housing and homelessness interventions.
Entering its twelfth year, the Highmark Foundation’s School Grants Program has provided more than $4.2 million to help bring about healthy changes in schools in Highmark Foundation’s service region.
The link to the online application can be found at https://highmarkfoundationrfp.versaic.com.