Hollister’s oldest park over the years has become increasingly
rundown and crime ridden, and several local agencies hope to have
an answer this summer on a proposal for grant funding to restore a
focus on health and physical activity.
Hollister’s oldest park over the years has become increasingly rundown and crime ridden, and several local agencies hope to have an answer this summer on a proposal for grant funding to restore a focus on health and physical activity.
The Hollister Youth Alliance – in partnership with First 5 San Benito, the gang prevention coordinator, the city and San Benito County – expects to receive word on the $200,000 grant request by the end of June. The youth alliance has applied for the grant through the Campbell-based Health Trust, a charitable nonprofit with the goal of making the “Silicon Valley the healthiest region in America.”
Hollister Youth Alliance Executive Director Diane Ortiz noted how the groups – if the application is accepted – would request community feedback on how to spend the funds. An array of improvements could include a general cleanup effort, setting aside some play areas for toddlers and fixing up the bathrooms. “It’s really based on the community feedback,” Ortiz said.
The overall goal in a restoration would be to make the park more suited for children and to “promote healthy, active living,” said Ortiz, who mentioned the county’s high obesity rate as a factor in showing it needs a boost in such offerings.
“They are obviously into creating healthy communities,” she said. “It’s an advocacy grant.”
Ortiz pointed out how the Hollister Youth Alliance had been running some programming out of the clubhouse at the park, but that the group had to stop meeting there because it lacks lighting and it was not “really safe.” She said the grant would be a chance to “kind of get our foot back in the door.”
Ortiz recognized how local governments’ budgets are “stretched thin,” so it made sense to approach the Health Trust about funding. The city council and county board, meanwhile, have expressed support for the grant.
A recent county resolution stated how Dunne Park is surrounded primarily by a Hispanic population often at risk for poverty-related ailments such as obesity and diabetes.
For all grant requests, applicants must meet the following criteria:
– Applicants must be nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations or public agencies
– Services must directly benefit residents of Santa Clara County and/or Northern San Benito County
– Projects must align broadly with at least one of The Health Trust’s three Initiatives and should support our mission to promote prevention and wellness
Source: www.healthtrust.org
