Show Us How You Are Making Your Community Healthier

Video Challenge – Apply for $1,500 in grant funding

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), in conjunction with the State Health Improvement Plan Implementation Coordination Council (SHIP ICC), wants you to make a video showing how your organization is transforming the health of people in your community. The SHIP ICC will select up to 10 awardees and each will receive $1,500 in grant funding from IDPH to continue their health transformation work in their community.

“Many groups and organizations around the state are working to transform the health of their community by growing a neighborhood garden for fresh vegetables, prohibiting smoking on playgrounds, offering the use of recreation facilities to the public after hours, or in many other ways,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck. “We are encouraging people to put on their creative hats and make a video showing how they are making a healthy impact on their community. IDPH will chose up to 10 awardees and each will receive $1,500 in grant money to continue their healthy efforts.”

Anyone can submit a Video Challenge entry, with grant funding going to a local organization. Videos should relate to one or more of the priorities outlined in the SHIP, such as nutrition and access to healthier foods, increasing physical activity, reducing tobacco use, violence prevention and other health topics. The video must also respond to one of the Video Challenge topics.

• What’s Your SHIP Story? Tell a story about how collaboration among organizations resulting in a success around a SHIP priority area.
• We’re a Public Health Stakeholder. Tell a story that shows how your organization is a public health stakeholder, even if public health is not explicitly part of your mission.
• What’s Your SHIP Priority? Tell a story about the potential you see for organizations to work together to improve a SHIP priority area in your community.

To learn more about how to apply for a grant through the Video Challenge, visit www.healthycommunities.illinois.gov and click on the Video Challenge tab. All applications are due by March 17, 2014.

The SHIP is produced every five years by a team of public, private and voluntary sector stakeholders appointed by the IDPH director. The SHIP calls for the state to transform access to comprehensive health-related services, enhance data and information technology in the health care sectors, address the social factors affecting health and health disparities, manage and transform the public health system, and ensure sufficient workforce in the health care and public health fields. The SHIP is prevention-focused and centered on the following priority health concerns: alcohol/tobacco, use of illicit drugs/misuse of legal drugs, mental health, environment, obesity (including nutrition and physical activity), oral health, patient safety and quality, unintentional injury and violence.

The Governor-appointed SHIP ICC is an interdisciplinary council tasked with developing implementation strategies for the SHIP.

For more information on the SHIP and SHIP implementation, visit www.healthycommunities.illinois.gov.

Development of the SHIP is dependent upon health officials working together with public, private and voluntary stakeholders. This is the very definition of partnership development to advance Illinois’ public health agenda, one of the priorities of the IDPH Five Year Strategy 2014-2018. A copy of the strategic plan can be found at http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/StrategicPlan_Final_2014-2018.pdf.