AUSTIN, TEXAS, May 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The statewide nonprofit, It’s Time Texas, whose mission is to empower Texans to lead healthier lives and build healthier communities, has awarded $300,000 in sub-grant funding through a Healthy Kids, Healthy Families® (HKHF) grant by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX). The HKHF funding supports BCBSTX’s commitment to community-based organizations supporting children and families who have been impacted by the health, economic, and social implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s Time Texas, with this sub-grant funding, aims to target the root causes of social and health inequities that COVID-19 has exacerbated, especially in communities of color through a Collaborative Innovations for Community Health (CICH) project. CICH awards will directly support programs and projects that are improving critical health outcomes, addressing root causes of health disparities, removing barriers to access, and advancing conditions for health and wellness in the wake of COVID-19.
Resources will be rapidly deployed to communities of Texas where strategic investments of support and resources will improve health outcomes across four designated areas of Texas: Austin, Beaumont, Brazos Valley, and the Rio Grande Valley. Funded project work by each organization began May 1 and commence December 31, 2021.
Community-based organizations to receive CICH sub-grants include:
- Giving Austin Labor Support (GALS) – Austin
- Urban Roots – Austin
- Nutrition and Services for Seniors – Beaumont
- Iconium Missionary Baptist Church – Beaumont
- SON-SHINE Outreach Center – Brazos Valley
- Burleson Health Resource Center – Brazos Valley
- Su Clinica – Rio Grande Valley
- Good Neighbor Settlement House – Rio Grande Valley
“It’s Time Texas is proud to support the work of these community organizations who are pursuing a pathway to health equity and are working to reduce health disparities within Texas,” said CEO Amy McGeady. “This gap-filling funding will not only support immediate outcomes to address health-related social needs, and will also provide community access to resources and programs offered by It’s Time Texas to build community capacity to sustain and adapt solutions long term.”
“It’s important that we support community-based organizations that are directly supporting children and families who have been impacted by the health, economic, and social implications of the pandemic,” said Sheena Payne, BCBSTX’s director of Community Investments. “Our collaboration with It’s Time Texas allows us to strategically and directly target organizations that are focused on and moving the needle on health equity solutions.”
The HKHF program—which centers on nutrition, physical activity, disease prevention and management, and supporting safe environments—has awarded $14 million in funding and impacted the lives of close to three million children and their families in Texas.
Get to know each of the grantees at www.itstimetexas.org and follow their progress on our social media channels @ItsTimeTX.
About It’s Time Texas:
It’s Time Texas is a statewide 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to bring people, communities, and organizations together to take action that supports health for all, now and for generations to come. At It’s Time Texas we believe that every Texan should have an equal opportunity to live a long and healthy life, but we recognize that social and environmental factors have long prevented that vision from becoming a reality. To truly address health for all Texans, we root our work in the knowledge that unjust systems have created disparities for communities of color, low-income communities, and other marginalized populations. Dramatically improving health and equity requires a systemic approach that centers and values community voices to address the root causes of poor health and also the shaping of the environments in which we live and work to make healthy choices possible and practical for all Texans. We work to create a culture of health where health is a shared value and health equity is a reality. Join us at www.itstimetexas.org and follow us on social media @ItsTimeTX.