EAGAN, Minn., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation recently awarded $1,151,700 in grants -- $810,000 under Growing Up Healthy: Kids and Communities, $206,700 for Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans, and $135,000 in related grants.

Growing Up Healthy, a 10-year funding effort, nurtures the healthy growth and development of children under age five by supporting partnerships in communities across the state that connect children's health with early childhood development opportunities, safe and affordable housing and the environment. Healthy Together is a statewide grants program that addresses the mental health, social adjustment and integration of immigrants and refugees.

"We know that everyone in the community benefits when each of us is healthier," said Joan Cleary, foundation vice president. "These initiatives improve health for all by focusing on our newest as well as our youngest residents."

  Recent grants include:
  Growing Up Healthy:  Kids and Communities

Beltrami Wellness Education for Long Life, Bemidji, $60,000 for the Excellence in Wellness Certification program in collaboration with Bemidji State University, BiCap Headstart, and in- home licensed child care providers.

Carlton County Children and Family Services Collaborative, Cloquet, $60,000 to increase access to safe housing, promote clean physical environments and improve early childhood education opportunities in Carlton County.

East Side Neighborhood Development Company, St. Paul, $60,000 to improve the environmental quality of home and day care environments in the Payne- Phalen neighborhood.

Family Housing Fund, Minneapolis, $60,000 to improve environmental and physical safety of supportive housing for families in St. Paul.

Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, St. Paul, $60,000 to support a green, affordable housing development for families in Lake City, Minn.

Little Earth Residents Association, Minneapolis, $60,000 for its Women's Empowerment-Early Childhood education project.

Minnesota Early Learning Foundation, St. Paul, $150,000 for home-based parent-mentoring to improve learning readiness from the prenatal phase through age three.

North American Water Office, Lake Elmo, $60,000 to improve early developmental, educational and health outcomes for native children on the White Earth reservation through the Indigenous Women's Mercury investigation.

Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division, Northfield, $60,000 to improve access to housing, health and early childhood education information and services in Rice County, and improve neighborhood safety in two neighborhoods in Northfield and two in Faribault.

University of Minnesota Center for Early Education and Development, Minneapolis, $60,000 for the 500 Under Five program to improve school readiness for children in North Minneapolis.

University of Minnesota Children, Youth and Families Consortium, Minneapolis, $60,000 to implement and evaluate a new service delivery model that partners human service and healthy housing/environmental health sectors to more effectively serve families with children.

University of Minnesota Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, Crookston, $60,000 for reducing children's exposures to pesticides in the Red River Valley.

Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans

Portico Healthnet, St. Paul, $26,700 to enhance care management for mental health services through community health workers.

Main Street Project, Minneapolis, $10,000 to build relations between the immigrant communities and the broader community in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

ISAIAH, Minneapolis, $10,000 to increase cross-cultural communication and partnership.

Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, Minneapolis, $40,000 for programs that build supportive civic relationships between African immigrants and other residents in North Minneapolis.

Neighborhood House, St. Paul, $40,000 for its ArtsConnect project, using the arts to forge social connections between immigrants and refugees, and established residents.

Northwest Resources for Families, Maple Grove, $40,000 to develop interventions that are culturally and linguistically appropriate for African immigrants in the northern Twin Cities suburbs who have been exposed to the trauma of war.

Pillsbury United Communities, Minneapolis, $40,000 in support of community health workers who will increase access to culturally/linguistically appropriate mental health prevention services, including early detection and treatment options for the East African community in Minneapolis.

Other grants

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis, $60,000 to support the Healthy Legacy campaign, designed to protect children from environmental hazards and toxic chemicals.

Charities Review Council, St. Paul, $25,000 to increase its cultural competency as an independent source of information and education for donors and nonprofits.

Citizens League, St. Paul, $25,000 for a multi-tiered civic leadership program.

Minnesota Public Health Association, Minneapolis, $25,000 challenge and program grant to strengthen Minnesota's public health Emerging Leaders' Network.

2008 funding for Healthy Together

The foundation is accepting letters of inquiry for 2008 Healthy Together funding. Letters of inquiry are due January 11, 2008. For information on how to apply, or for more information on the foundation, visit http://www.bcbsmnfoundation.org/, call (651) 662-3950 or toll free 1-866-812- 1593, or e-mail foundation@bluecrossmn.com.

The Blue Cross Foundation's purpose is to look beyond health care today for ideas that create healthier communities tomorrow. By addressing key social, economic and environmental factors that determine health -- beyond genes, lifestyle and access to health care -- the foundation's work extends beyond the traditional reach of the health care system to improve community health long term and close the health gap that affects many Minnesotans. Since it was established 21 years ago, the foundation has become the state's largest grantmaking foundation to exclusively dedicate its assets to improving health in Minnesota, awarding more than $21 million since 1986.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A nonprofit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.9 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Go to http://www.bluecrossmn.com/ to learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
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Source: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation

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