By: Erin Smith
The members of the Healthy Bladen Collaborative met on Tuesday morning at the Bladen County Health Department and learned about grant opportunities.
Kathleen Riley of the Cape Fear Resource conservation and Development, talked to the board about two distinct grant opportunities. The first grant opportunity is to do an in depth study of drainage issues in the region. The counties that would be involved in the study would include Bladen, Pender, New Hanover, Brunswick and Columbus.
“We’ll providing information of where the problems are,” said Riley.
She told the group that drainage issues can be caused by a number of things including beavers and low-lying areas where water simply cannot flow.
Riley said the study would include the use of drones to reach areas that cannot be easily accessed.
She said the drainage project would take about two to three years to complete.
Riley also talked to the group about a second grant opportunity involving recreational trails. She said there are two areas that the granting agency looks at — is the trail feasible and does it have recreational value.
Following Riley, Elisabeth Baynard, Health Systems Coordinator for Public Health Region 8 at the Robeson County Health Department, talked about the Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention grant. She told the group that the grant has provided for some training for life coaches in the region. Baynard said the mostly, the grant provides training.
The group heard about the Young Mom’s Connect grant which is set to expire on July 31, 2016. Kayla Brianne told the group that the current grant has been extended until July 31, 2017. She said that it looks positive that another round of grant funding will be available and plans are in place to apply for another Young Mom’s Connect grant during the application period.
The group also was presented with a sample of the proposed signage for the walking trails located throughout the county.
The group was also updated on Faithful Families. Marianne Valentiner said that a group of churches in Ammon had initially signed up to take the training but had since decided against the training.
The group also heard updates regarding the Connect NC Bond, volunteer training for the Lower Cape Fear Hospice, the Bladen County Strategic Planning Committee, Department of Social Services’ Energy Program, and Bladen County Parks and Recreation.
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