The Cass County Memorial Hospital has received a grant from the University of Iowa to help develop a walking map that encourages more residents to get exercise by walking. The University of Iowa College of Public Health and its Business Leadership Network announced six award recipients under the third annual round of the Community Grant Program. The organizations received cash grants of up to $3,000.

The Cass County Memorial Hospital aims to expand and encourage walking as a way to connect family and friends while gaining health benefits. Through their Healthy Cass County division, they will work to provide walking maps with routes of varying lengths in each of the eight cities in the county to help residents become more active.   More

Edith Parker, professor and head of the Department of Community and Behavioral Health at the UI College of Public Health, says “We are excited to support these locally initiated projects to improve community health. The grant program is one way the college is partnering with communities and business leaders across the state to increase the well-being of Iowans.”

The grant program funds, in conjunction with an equal cash match from another organization or business, will be used for public health-related initiatives and projects in the recipient communities. The first round of grant funding was awarded in 2015. This third 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 at: www.public-health.uiowa.edu/bln.

The College of Public Health provided the grants as part of its Business Leadership Network (BLN) initiative. Some of the funds for the grant program are provided by the UI Provost’s Office of Outreach and Engagement, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust. The BLN, established in 2011, fosters ongoing, mutually beneficial relationships between the College of Public Health and small and medium-sized businesses and communities in Iowa.