By Alex Soloducha

Heart and Stroke Foundation grant encourages healthy lifestyles in Sask. communities

Feb 6, 2014 | 5:37 AM

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is working to encourage new programs to improve the health of people in their community, especially children.

The foundation’s ‘My Healthy Community Grant’ was developed to fund community programs which promote healthy lifestyle changes.

Stephanie Cross is the senior manager of health promotion at the Heart and Stroke Foundation Saskatchewan. She said she is very proud of the grant and what it has funded.

“As a part of our heart healthy children and youth strategy the foundation is providing My Healthy Community grants to support cities and towns across the province, so big or small, to make healthy lasting changes at that grassroots level,” said Cross.

Cross said the Saskatchewan division of the foundation first adopted the grant three years ago, when she started. Last year alone there were six recipients of grants though this program.

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The Heart and Stroke webpage states: “Unfortunately, today Canada faces a future epidemic of disease due to high obesity rates caused by poor eating habits and decreasing levels of physical activity.”

“One in four children are considered to be overweight or obese. More than half are actually not active enough for optimum growth or development, and our province in continues to have our highest smoking rates here in the country. So these are three contributing factors to heart disease and stroke.”

Two of their most successful grants last year were given to the Extreme Healthy School Makeover in Carrot River, and the Little Green Thumbs Outside program at Bready Elementary School in North Battleford.

Shannon Wolf is the chairperson for Blessings in a Backpack in Carrot River. Their organization provides healthy food to children who may not be getting all they need at home. On Fridays while the kids are out during their final recess, the principal goes around putting the food items in the backpacks of the kids who need it. This way, the children can take the food home for the weekend. They also do up a bigger box of food for each kid before Christmas and summer break.

They received a grant for $4,000, the full amount allotted, to fund this project.

Wolf said at first they were apprehensive, worrying about the kids involved being embarrassed. Luckily, she says the response has been great.

“I think the results are really positive. One of the children that’s in the program has said that his favorite day of the week is Friday because he knows he’s getting his backpack,” said Wolf. “The kids that are receiving the backpacks look forward to it…they don’t feel in any way, shape or form ashamed about it. The whole point was to give a hand up; it’s not a hand out, it’s a hand up.”

“It’s just to show support right here in our community for people who maybe are struggling, you know, from time to time, because everybody goes through struggles in their life and it’s just something that we are able to do here on our community basis to show community support.”

They also stalk a “caring cupboard” at the school for children who may have forgot their lunch or don’t have enough to eat.

The first year they did it nine kids were in the program. This year they have 11 participants, which represents about 10 per cent of the school’s population.

Wolf also said they have also expanded their program to cover school supplies, hot lunch, school pictures, and winter clothes. She hopes to expand their base even more.

Beyond this, they have had running/walking programs and have been educating the kids on proper nutrition, using games and challenges, like “eat your colours” to get them interested. They plan to continue to fundraise for more healthy community programs.

Little Green Thumbs

Sandra Fiddler is the school liaison at Bready. She said they received a grant for $2,000 which they used to purchase soil, mini green houses, a small shed, garden tools and lumber to make raised beds.

They started the vegetable seedlings inside the school and transplanted them into the raised beds outside in the spring.

“The kids love it,” said Fiddler. “They always come up to me, like, the first day of school, when is gardening club going to start? So it[‘s something that’s really taken on a life of it’s own and it’s all thanks to the money we received from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.”

She said they really wanted to involve the children, ages 9 to 11, in a hands-on activity; something that they could learn from without them actually having to be sitting down in a classroom constantly. She also wanted the kids to learn how to be sustainable and eco-friendly.

According to Riddler, they have plans to expand the project. They want to get a drip-irrigation system, a rain barrel, and have been composting during the winter months.

Most of the vegetables that they grow are used in a veggie program at school and redistributed for snack.

For more, see the Heart and Stroke Foundation web page.

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On Twitter: @alex_soloducha