The University of Iowa College of Public Health and its Business Leadership Network has selected five award recipients of its annual Community Grant Program, and one of therm is a non-profit based in Davenport, a news release says.

The recipients are: Greater Regional Health, Creston; Manning Regional Healthcare Center, Manning; Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging, Waterloo; One Eighty, Davenport; and Tipton Community School District, Tipton. The organizations will receive cash grant awards of up to $3,000, the release says.

The grant program funds, in conjunction with an equal cash and/or in-kind match from other organizations or businesses, will be used for public health-related initiatives and projects in the recipient communities.

One Eighty will offer a summer program for at-risk middle school students in Davenport’s lowest income schools to disrupt the cycles of crisis, poverty, and addiction. Students will participate in strengths assessment, goal setting, career exploration, life skills training, physical activity, learning about healthy relationships and making good choices, and nutrition education. These food-insecure students will receive a daily healthy meal and snack.

“We are pleased to be supporting these local projects developed to improve community health,” says Edith Parker, dean of the University of Iowa College of Public Health. “This grant program demonstrates the strength of partnerships among the university, local businesses, and organizations to improve the well-being of Iowans.”

The College of Public Health provided the grants as part of its Business Leadership Network (BLN) initiative. Funds for the grant program are provided by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. The BLN fosters ongoing, mutually beneficial relationships between the College of Public Health and small and medium-sized businesses and communities in Iowa. Through these relationships, the college engages and collaborates with communities in development of cutting-edge, high impact public health research, enhances educational programs with service-learning opportunities within businesses, and promotes a culture of health throughout communities.

This year’s grant funding was available to nonprofit organizations and local government entities across Iowa. Details about the grant program, as well as additional information about the Business Leadership Network is available here.