Cook County Awards Public Health Grants Aligned with Community Health Improvement Plan Goals

September 24, 2024 – The Cook County Public Health and Human Services Board approves granting funds to eleven local community organizations through the Public Health Fund grants for the 2025 calendar year – a combined total of $190,000 in grant awards. Eleven applications were submitted, for a combined total of approximately $253,679 in grant requests.

A grant review subcommittee of the Public Health and Human Ser­vices Advisory Council convened multiple times in the past months to review reports from past grantees, develop materials and an outreach plan for the 2025 grant opportu­nity, and to meet with applicants to hear more about their grant re­quests. Only 501c3 nonprofit agen­cies serving Cook County residents (or initiatives with a fiscal sponsor that is a 501c3), whose work aligns with the priority health areas in the current Community Health Im­provement Plan were eligible for funding. These priorities include access to:

• Affordable healthy foods
• Affordable housing
• Affordable, quality childcare
• Mental health resources and support for well-being
• Physical health services

Following are the recommenda­tions of the grant review subcom­mittee, the Public Health and Hu­man Services Board voted at its August meeting to allocate funding to the following eleven organiza­tions:

Birch Grove Community School- Community Service Branch

• $15,000 to support the general op­erations of the programs that run out of the Birch Grove Commu­nity School Community Service Branch. These programs include: the Saplings/Summer Saplings preschool program (excluding staff wages/benefits), summer programming for school-aged kids (Campsite Kids), and before and after school care (Birch Bud­dies).

Care Partners

• $15,000 to support care coordi­nation, end of life care, caregiv­er support, and volunteer-based assistance with chores and rides across Cook County.

Cook County Council on Aging (the Hub)

• $64,550 to support the general operations of the Cook County Council on Aging (CCOA). This includes wages, utilities, and building maintenance. Through the Hub, the CCOA offers lunch, classes, workshops, and other ac­tivities to the community.

Cook County Higher Education

• $15,000 to support reducing the cost of programming aligned with the County’s priority health areas, including healthcare train­ing courses, by 50-100%.

Cooperation Station

• $10,000 to restructure the out­door play area of the childcare facility through additional fence repairs so that it better serves the safety of infants and toddlers. Grant funding is contingent on the program re-opening and serv­ing families as of 1/1/2025.

Great Expectation School

• $12,450 provide staffing support for in-school curricula designed to build skills that promote men­tal well-being and foster healthy behaviors among students.

Hamilton Habitat

• $10,000 to support the general project funds for building two homes in Grand Marais. Homes are donation funded and deed-re­stricted affordable homes for cur­rent residents of Cook County.

Northwoods Food Project

• $10,000 to support staffing costs associated with expanding local food access, food production, and nutrition education program­ming.

Violence Prevention Center

• $18,000 to support direct client assistance and staffing costs for the weekend crisis line.

WTIP

• $10,000 to support, through a fis­cal sponsorship arrangement, the work of Carly Jean Puch in creat­ing the Mindfulness Monday ra­dio program and in implementing mindfulness and yoga programs for school-aged children.

YMCA

• $10,000 to support income-based scholarships to increase access to memberships and other program­ming at the YMCA based to en­hance protective factors that limit substance misuse.

More information on the Public Health Fund grants can be found on the County website at www.co.cook.mn.us/grants.