Kaiser Permanente Awards $6.5 Million in Grants to Community Organizations

OAKLAND, Calif., May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente awarded grants totaling $6.5 million in the first quarter to 204 local organizations whose work is helping to build healthier communities.

"There is a definite link between our health and our communities. Obesity and the high rates of chronic conditions are often times the result of how we live. Kaiser Permanente is not only actively involved in drawing attention to these public health challenges, but also supporting solutions that make healthy choices available and accessible," said Raymond J. Baxter, senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy.

Further underscoring its commitment to total health, Kaiser Permanente is a co-sponsor of a four-part documentary series on the nation's obesity epidemic – The Weight of the Nation – that will be broadcast May 14 and 15, on HBO. The entire broadcast will also be available free of charge on HBO.com, as well as on numerous other platforms by participating television service providers.

The film, coupled with Kaiser Permanente's community contributions, promotes the importance of increasing access to healthy foods and physical activity. This is a sampling of the grants awarded by Kaiser Permanente in the first quarter of 2012.

Kaiser Permanente Community Contributions

• Seven municipalities and Parks and Recreation districts in Southern California received $513,000 in grants for the Operation Splash Program to facilitate physical activity. The grant will support programs in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Indio, Chula Vista and Bakersfield where health disparities are greatest and opportunities for safe physical activity are often scarce. 
• Wholesome Wave Georgia received a $10,000 grant to double the value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients' dollars at the Athens Farmers Market. In conjunction with the opening of the Kaiser Permanente medical facility in Athens, Wholesome Wave Georgia will support low-income community members' access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Employees from Kaiser Permanente Hawaii and community volunteers gathered to beautify the school campus of Mayor John H. Wilson Elementary School in Honolulu.  A $5,000 contribution supported building sustainable gardens, and repainting and resurfacing walkways.
• Through a $65,000 grant, Kaiser Permanente Northern California is the lead sponsor for 16th Annual Trails Challenge, which promotes yearlong health and fitness activities at East Bay Regional Parks.
• The YMCA of Greater Cleveland partners with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to deliver the We Run This City Youth Marathon Program, training CMSD students to participate in the Cleveland Marathon. Working with their CMSD physical education teachers and YMCA fitness staff, students increase their physical activity, learn basic fitness principles and race etiquette, and receive ongoing nutrition education through a 12-week training period. Most students complete 25 miles through the training period with the final 1.2 miles run at the Cleveland Marathon. The program received a $50,000 grant.
• A $50,000 grant was awarded to Arcadia Food, Inc. to support its creative Mobile Market initiative, which aims to increase the distribution, access and consumption of local foods in "food deserts." The Mobile Market will work to cultivate a more sustainable food system in underserved communities by engaging the community about food access and nutrition education. In addition, The Mobile Market will expand the (Washington, DC) DC Farm to School Network by engaging and educating school children and their families, and will increase the use of federal food assistance programs, such as Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program and Women Infants and Children.
• A $137,000 grant was awarded to the Oregon Public Health Institute for HEAL Cities Oregon. The goal of HEAL Cities Oregon is to create community environments throughout the Kaiser Permanente region of Oregon and southeastern Washington that support healthy eating and active living for their residents. The project strategy aims to help policy makers and planning directors develop an approach that focuses on community-centered policy and environment change.

For more information about Kaiser Permanente's Community Benefit programs visit www.kp.org/communitybenefit. The 2010 Community Benefit Annual Report can be found at www.kp.org/communitybenefit/annualreport.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We serve approximately 8.9 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.

Contact: Patrice Smith, 510-271-6813, [email protected]

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente