Current Equity Grant Recipients

Beyond Diet & Exercise Grant (November 2023 - May 2024)

Multiple grants were awarded to organizations to provide healthy weight management programs that (i) focus on health disparities for women, particularly communities experiencing significant disparities; (ii) include interventions that consider more than diet and exercise; and (iii) focus on health determinants beyond the individual level.

Below is a list of the grant recipients and a brief description of their projects.

Grant Recipients:

Asian American Center of Frederick (AACF) - we will create a community garden as part of our Family Support Services collaborating with some of AACF’s internal programs such as Citizenship Integrated Services, Seniors Volunteers and Senior Companion Program.
Centro Hispano de Frederick - Our Program will be called Proyecto: Nutricion Sana - Familia Sana (Project: Healthy Nutrition-Healthy Family). Each Monday we will invite someone to talk about health topics and guided activities that are culturally acceptable in the Hispanic community.
Evangelical Lutheran Church - The goal is to get folks moving around town together - caring for our bodies - and encouraging folk to invite the group to walk in their neighborhood. This connects people to the community and to each other. The funding will help provide the tools to track our walking and to create comradery. Folks will collect "Toe Tokens," when they hit mile markers and can earn fun prizes to incentivize their participation and get them to build consistency
Farm to School Frederick - The overall goal for the activities is to transform the school community food environment to create a healthy food movement at in-school and after-school special programs. School administration desires to only include foods at events with high nutritional value that promote good health and create an environment where the policy, program and practice within the school aligns with the health and wellness goals of the School Improvement Plan. (Please note that none of the activities are related to the national school breakfast program or national school lunch program.)
Girls on the Run - GOTR will expand our reach to ensure more girls in Frederick County who could benefit from the program can participate, without financial cost as a barrier. Our program cultivates the positive benefits of physical activity and running while, at the same time, consciously addressing harmful habits like negative self-talk, poor self-esteem and more that are prevalent among adolescent girls and detrimental to their physical AND mental health. Every GOTR lesson incorporates physical activity and sports skills to support the development of these qualities among girls and promote girls' confidence in physical activity, as well as a lifetime appreciation for active living and healthy habits.
Jackson Chapel UMC - Our program includes meal portion control consisting of affordable healthy food choices, healthy snacks, increased water consumption, regular walking and low-intensity cardio exercises. We will also exercise together beginning with a series of regular chair exercises. Many people have some issues with mobility while still in the 50 - 60 years of life, so we'll be including chair exercises addressing core strengthening, stretching, chair yoga, hand and ankle weights for strengthening and toning.
Keep Still Cares Foundation - The program exists to support the development of healthy lifestyle choices for 6th - 9th grade girls through fitness and nutrition education. Our approach is grounded in evidence-based research that supports a peer-group based model where girls are exposed to activities geared to build character, confidence, and healthy relationships education. Additionally, we are going beyond diet and exercise through our engagement model.
Seton Center - Our new Seton Center Wellness Group will have two main strategies for the grant period: 1) promoting healthy food choices and meal preparation and 2) promoting healthy practices such as exercise and sleep. Our Wellness Group will be for everybody, but special attention will be given to women and senior citizens. Many of our clients do not have computer access so we will provide a paper journal for them to record their meals and activity, weight, personal goals, steps, and noticeable changes like “more energy, sleeping better, happier, etc.”
Str8 Health N Fitness - Our Fitness Forever Fitness Program will improve positive progression with overall health, motor skills, coordination, balance, strength, and longevity among seniors with weight problems and/or chronic diseases. This is the primary group of this project to support seniors 55+. It will help foster a supportive community environment that encourages social interaction and mutual support as a community. Our second project will be Fitness Stars Fitness Program to address special fitness activities for mother and children 3-9 years old and education about the effects of breastfeeding on postpartum weight reduction in the mother/birthing person. This will be peer programming for the clients attending the Early Childhood Education Program at the Family Support Services at AACF.
Women Solve - Our proposed transformational initiative, "Get Fit Frederick," is dedicated to creating sustainable and inclusive exercise programs that combat unhealthy weight management practices within our community of minority women with children. We firmly believe that by nurturing a supportive environment and equipping individuals with the knowledge and tools for healthy living, we can create and sustain lasting positive change through multiple strategies. One strategy will be Cultural Nutrition Sharing on Social Media. Utilizing social media platforms, we will celebrate and share culturally diverse healthy cooking habits and recipes. This digital engagement will inspire healthier food choices while honoring the richness of our community's culinary traditions.