Having trouble finding funding? Get creative. Look at what MicheleLee Puppets did: they got themselves a grant from, not an arts group, but a foundation on preventing childhood obesity. Rock on!
Three Orlando area nonprofit programs focused on fighting childhood obesity were each awarded $100,000 in grant money from the Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida.
Get Active Orlando plans to develop and implement programs to encourage physical activity in Orlando's Parramore neighborhood.
Orlando-based MichleLee Puppets educates children about nutrition and physical activity through puppet shows performed in elementary schools.
The Institute for America's Health plans to teach fourth- and fifth-grade students in Orange and Miami-Dade counties about harmful marketing strategies that promote consumption of unhealthy foods and sedentary lifestyles.
Nine grants, totaling $835,068, were awarded statewide. The initiative is part of The Blue Foundation's $8 million, four-year statewide initiative to address the causes of childhood obesity through public-private partnerships across Florida.
The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida is a nonprofit, private foundation established in 2001 by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida Inc. to support community-based solutions addressing the health care needs of Floridians, particularly the uninsured and underserved.