Blue Cross Foundation Announces Grant Awards For Innovation

BATON ROUGE, February 8, 2016 /3BL Media/ – The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation has announced the first three grant awards from its New Horizons grant fund. The three Projects receiving $10,000 awards to pilot new, innovative ideas are:

1. Fresh Central Greenhouse-Schoolhouse
   • Project Partners:
     • Central Louisiana Economic Development Agency
     • Live Lively LaSalle Alliance
     • LaSalle Economic Development District
     • LaSalle Parish School Child Nutrition
   • Description:
     • Fresh Central Greenhouse-to-Schoolhouse is an economically sustainable hydroponic-greenhouse-to-schoolhouse social business model to reduce obesity and the risk thereof by increasing access to, encouraging consumption of, and educating about fresh, healthy and local produce.
2. Building the Capacity of Educators to Meet the Needs of Students with ADHD
   • Project Partner:
     • Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder (CHADD)
   • Description:
     • Designed for Louisiana, this project provides ADHD-specific teaching methods for teachers to help students with ADHD in grades K-12 succeed through workshops, webinars, statewide training, and an online community with resources.
3. Health Survey Pilot for Green Light New Orleans Garden Program
   • Project Partner:
     • Green Light New Orleans
   • Description:       
     • Over a period of 11 months a Green Light New Orleans Louisiana Delta Service Corps member will develop, implement and evaluate surveys from Green Light's garden participants to measure the program's impact on health.

“We are thrilled to support these organizations and their endeavors to take a calculated risk in creating completely new approaches to solving persistent issues,” said Michael Tipton, Blue Cross Foundation president.

The Foundation began offering New Horizons grants after Tipton conducted an extensive listening tour last fall with partners in the nonprofit, academic and business sectors.

“We have local people with big ideas – but there’s very little funding available out there for nonprofits to take the risk of piloting a new program,” said Tipton. “That’s why the Foundation is stepping into the space – to nurture these ideas into fruition.”

More information about these projects, the New Horizons grant program and the Foundation is available at www.bcbslafoundation.org

The Foundation accepts proposals for various grant programs on a quarterly basis.

About the Blue Cross Foundation
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation works each day to improve the health and lives of Louisianians by empowering everyday people to do extraordinary good. By building and funding coalitions of friends, families and neighbors, the Foundation hopes to build a healthier Louisiana, particularly for its children. The foundation is funded solely by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, but is a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity. Together Blue Cross and the Blue Cross Foundation invest $2.5 million each year into Louisiana’s communities and nonprofits.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally-operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide healthcare coverage for more than 106 million members – one-in-three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog, for up-to-date information about BCBSA.