Community Foundation announces launch of ‘Upstream Grant Cycle’

The “River Story” is a common way to describe primary prevention. This story is also often called “The Upstream Story.”
It highlights the need to address the root causes of a health problem. Some attribute it to the community organizer Saul Alinsky. Some people refer to it as a traditional story or as the “public health parable.”
“I am standing by the shore of a swiftly flowing river and hear the cry of a drowning man. I jump into the cold waters. I fight against the strong current and force my way to the struggling man. I hold on hard and gradually pull him to shore. I lay him out on the bank and revive him with artificial respiration.
“Just when he begins to breathe, I hear another cry for help. I jump into the cold waters. I fight against the strong current and swim forcefully to the struggling woman. I grab hold and gradually pull her to shore. I lift her out on the bank beside the man and work to revive her with artificial respiration.
“Just when she begins to breathe, I hear another cry for help. I jump into the cold waters. Fighting again against the strong current, I force my way to the struggling man. I am getting tired, so with great effort I eventually pull him to shore. I lay him out on the bank and try to revive him with artificial respiration.
“Just when he begins to breathe, I hear another cry for help. Near exhaustion, it occurs to me that I’m so busy jumping in, pulling them to shore and applying artificial respiration that I have no time to see who is upstream pushing them all in…” This story by Irving Zola highlights the need to address the roots causes of a health problem.
From Oct. 1 to Dec. 15, 2019 the Community Foundation of Grant County will accept grant applications up to $150,000 from organizations using “upstream” methods to address adult obesity, child poverty or a combination of the two.
According to the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps publication, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the adult obesity percentage in Grant County is at 39%.
Another alarming statistic from the same source is the percentage of children in poverty which sits at 27%. Grant County is currently the county with the highest rate of child poverty in the state of Indiana.
If you have any questions about the Upstream Grant or future grant cycles offered at the Community Foundation of Grant County, please contact Community Investment Manager Meagan Mathias at 765-662-0065 or Meagan@GiveToGrant.org.

Recommended Posts

Loading...

Top Menu

Main Menu