Try This West Virginia
Try This Mission statement: “Try This aims to help knock West Virginia off the top of the worst health lists, community by community, by building a statewide grassroots network of healthy-community leaders who expand opportunities for physical activity and/or healthy food in their communities."
To help make that happen, Try This:
> offers minigrants to community teams for projects that expand
physical activity, healthy food or active mindfulness in their communities.
> brings healthy-community leaders together to inspire each other and
trade ideas at an annual conference and regional gatherings (in years
when there is no pandemic)
> supplies extensive "how to" information for projects through social
media and a resource Web site that covers hundreds of possible projects and West Virginians who have successfully done them.
> builds leadership skills and confidence in emerging community health leaders, through minigrants, resources, connections, support, and good examples.
> maintains active social media and Try This Online Connections to bring people together online.
> partners with a wide variety of like-minded organizations that can supply help to minigrant teams. Try This is an incubator for ideas that can only be accomplished by a coalition of groups. We get more done together than we do by ourselves
> organizes regional Try This networks, to make it easier for like-minded people to connect with people who live nearby.
Try This motto: "It's up to us!"
Try This like-minded partners: The West Virginia Alliance of Family Resource Networks, West Virginia Community Development Hub, West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, West Virginia Association of Counties, Future of Nursing West Virginia, Active Southern WV, SHAPE WV, West Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, WVU Extension Service, WVU Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Health; WV School of Osteopathic Medicine, WVU Parkersburg Wellness Program; PATCH 21; Grow Ohio Valley; West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition, WV Farmers Market Association, KEYS for Healthy Kids, Healthy in the Hills, West Virginia National Association of Social Workers, American Friends Service Committee WV, West Virginia Council of Churches, Mindful West Virginia, Step by Step WV.
Try This Funders: The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, WVDHHR Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease; WVDHHR Behavioral Health (via the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine), Generous Promise Fund, Congregation of St. Joseph; The Pallottine Foundation of Huntington; Bernard McDonough Foundation; Sisters Health Foundation; Appalachian Electric Power Giving Back Fund.
Try This Fiscal Sponsor: The Lewis County Family Resource Network
Try This is an accelerator. By bringing the year-round program: workshops, social media and on-the-ground organizers to help local people plan projects, carry out longterm planning, find resources and get training. Try This has sponsored 10 regional gatherings and has sparked the statewide Mindful West Virginia network.