“These nine community investments address longstanding core issues that impact the health of residents,” said Curtis Holloman, Executive Director of the Foundation for a Healthy High Point. “We are excited to partner with these organizations as they work to bring about significant results, particularly during the COVID pandemic.”
The approved grants recipients are:
- Children’s Home Society ($25,000) – supports an in-school and after-school-based educational series designed for middle school males, high school youth, and Latino/a youth. The effort aims to reach approximately 450 youth and prevent unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, ultimately resulting in higher levels of education, increased gains in employment due to educational levels, and greater family stability with parenthood delayed until adulthood.
- Communities in Schools ($58,500) – supports a peer crisis mentoring program that teaches participants skills for self-regulation and how to manage stress because of personal or community-level trauma, such as violence, poverty, and racism. The organization will deploy certified instructors, a licensed psychologist, and a case manager to train 40 youth mentors and 40 mentees across two middle schools and two high schools using the Community Resilience Model and will expand the reach to include parents and caretakers.
- Guilford Nonprofit Consortium ($20,000) – provides general operating support to strengthen and increase the capacity of non-profit organizations serving High Point. The Consortium’s role is increasingly more important in the COVID-19 environment.
- Reach Out and Read ($17,500) – supports the Reach Out and Read program, which is an evidence-based intervention designed to foster early childhood development and literacy by using books as tools during regular well-child visits in Greater High Point pediatric practices. Funding will increase the number of High Point sites implementing the program from 4 to 6, allowing the organization to reach an additional 2,300 children and families.
- Ready for School, Ready for Life ($30,000) – provides operational support to the backbone organization of a county-wide initiative to build a system of care for children ages zero to eight and their families. By the end of 2021, the organization’s goal is to have the prenatal-to-age-three system in place across High Point and Guilford County including evidence-based programs Nurse-Family Partnership, Healthy Steps, and Family Connects.
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) ($25,799) – supports a pilot of an 8-week resilience and youth violence prevention program called Project Resilience. Youth participants and their college mentors will attend weekly workshops to develop resiliency and advocacy skills and engage in mentoring activities. Key elements of the program include the development of a citizens advisory committee, youth mentorship, and a youth protovoice and advocacy showcase. Partners in the collaboration include Resilience High Point and Communities in Schools.
- YWCA High Point ($80,000) – expands the reach of the Parents as Teachers program, an evidence-based and national model that provides adolescent parents with education about childhood development and equips them with parenting skills to help improve school readiness. Funding will help to bridge a gap in services for young parents who do not meet the requirements for state funding.
- Caring Services Inc. ($10,000) – helps to establish a physical office location in High Point for two crisis intervention services provided by the University of NC at Greensboro (UNCG). UNCG’s social work field program and Guilford County Solution to the Opioid Problem (GCSTOP) work in collaboration with Guilford County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to provide social services (such as crisis counseling and referrals to mental health providers) to individuals referred by EMS. The organizations anticipate serving 267 clients during the grant year.
- NCCJ of the Piedmont Triad ($10,000) – supports STARR (Students Talking About Race + Racism), a three-day training for high school students that provides students with a safe space to ask questions about race and racism. The training includes large and small group work, one-on-one sessions, and a tour of the International Civil Rights Museum followed by a facilitated conversation with some of High Point’s civil rights leaders.
Earlier this year, The Foundation for a Healthy High Point awarded $30,000 across three small grants to: Caring Services to provide start-up funding for the MotherCare program; D-UP Basketball Fundamentals and Skills Training to support its Well Centered ME program; and Guilford County Partnership for Children to establish a health promotion program and outdoor education area at the Macedonia Head Start childcare facility. The Foundation also funded $50,000 to the YWCA High Point for a door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination outreach initiative called VaxConnect in partnership with the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services and the City of High Point.
Last year, the Foundation funded 41 projects in the amount of $1,633,511. Since inception, the Foundation has approved more than $11.5 million to support the Greater High Point community.
The Foundation for a Healthy High Point was established in 2013. The mission of the Foundation is to encourage, support, influence, and invest in efforts that improve health and wellness throughout the Greater High Point community, which includes High Point, Jamestown, Archdale and Trinity. For more information about the Foundation for a Healthy High Point visit
www.healthyhighpoint.org.