improving pathways for students to pursue careers in the health care field through real world, hands-on research and investigation

Mini-Grant Application for The herOes Project

Community Benefit Committee;

We would like to thank you for giving The herOes Project, from the Life Science Academy (LSA), full consideration for a mini-grant in the amount of $992.00. The mission of the LSA is to improve health care in our region by improving pathways for students to pursue careers in the health care field through world-class real-world, hands-on research and investigation. Although the LSA is a part of Community Campus, we are applying for these funds under the Daviess County Public School System, a necessary step as we have not yet procured separate tax ID status.

This is a unique grant request; conceived of, and to be implemented by, high school freshman from the LSA, with adult facilitation as necessary. As part of their first semester, students researched the health of our region. In eight small interest groups they developed project ideas to effect a positive change in the various areas of identified need. The student groups completed a full grant application and presented their ideas in front of their peers and an expert panel comprising area health, education and grant experts. The students voted, the experts scored and the teachers graded; the herOes project was selected through this competitive process.

By making this request the students of the LSA are learning about and fulfilling their responsibility to give back to the community. They are forming important social networks, increasing the likelihood they will remain in our community and continue to contribute to the overall health of our area. In funding this request, Owensboro Health will not only be funding a worthwhile project to improve the health of our community, but you have the opportunity to show our region’s best and brightest biomedical students that they too can have an impact on the health of our region- a powerful notion indeed.

Thank you for your consideration,

Natalie Mountjoy

LSA Director

Mini-Grant Application for

The Project

The Mini-Grant application should be used for all in-kind and financial requests not exceeding $1,000. The signature page from the guidelines must accompany your completed application. Please forward all materials to us at the following address:

Marketing & Public Relations

Owensboro Medical Health System

PO Box 20007

Owensboro, KY 42304-0007

Or fax to 270-685-7195

If you have questions about the process, please call us at 270-685-7190.

Check One	Identified Community Health Needs Needs not directly related to health care but that addresses root causes of health problems
Name of Program/Event	herOes
Amount of funding requested	$992.00
Goal of proposed program	To educate primary age students of area elementary schools on the causes and effects of childhood obesity.
Agency	The Life Science Academy part of Community Campus, Applying under the Daviess County Public School System We were provided permission to apply under DCPS on 1/28/2013 from: Matt Robbins Assistant Superintendent Daviess County Public Schools (270)-852-7000 (270)-852-7030 fax matt.robbins@daviess.kyschools.us
Street address	1622 Southeastern Parkway
City/State/Zip	Owensboro, KY 42303
Phone/Fax/Email	(270)313-4044
Tax Status	K-12 Education Organization
Tax ID	61-6001338
Date	January 21, 2013
Signature	Natalie J. Mountjoy Life Science Academy, Director

Event or Project Details. Include the date, location and name of the event or project.

As part of the first semester curriculum of the Life Science Academy, under Community Campus, students were instructed to investigate a community health need and write a grant request addressing the identified need in some way. In all, student groups made eight grant presentations to their peers and to a five-person expert panel comprising area doctors, nurses, biologists and former grant recipients. The herOes project against childhood obesity was selected as the best idea and is the project for which we are currently pursuing funding.

The herOes project, conceptualized by the freshman class of the Life Science Academy, uses super heroes to deliver an anti-obesity message through a stage performance relying on action, compassion and comedy. A similar program in Europe, called the “Food Dudes,” has been extremely successful; a pilot study in six schools from 2002 and 2003 showed that on average, participants' daily consumption of fruit and vegetables almost doubled over the course of the program. Further, because our plays will be performed by older students, not adults, we are capitalizing on the well documented effect of positive peer pressure on the choices younger kids make. We propose to perform herOes skits at two area elementary schools within the month of March.

Event or Project Description. Briefly describe how the funds will be used.

Funds from Owensboro Health will be used to meet our objectives as follows:

Perform the herOes skit at a minimum of two area elementary schools, in front of approximately 400-500 students total.

We have already initiated discussions with the Theatre Workshop of Owensboro and we are hopeful they will assists in script creation.

Scheduling will immediately commence once our grant is accepted.

We will visit two schools at minimum and add additional schools as money and time allow.

Distribute herOes pamphlets to each student who views our performance. The pamphlet will include:

Facts on obesity

Active alternatives to watching TV or playing video games

Easy snack ideas kids can make themselves or request from their parents

Preceding and following each performance we will administer a very short survey to gauge our ability to inform our audience.

It is our hope that 70% of our audience will demonstrate increased knowledge concerning obesity.

The majority of funds will be used for the props, costumes and sets required for our skit and for printing of our brochures and pre and posttests. Details are included in our budget below.

What other expectations of OMHS do you have pertaining to the support of your event or project?

We would give Owensboro Health credit at our performances and list them on our brochure as our primary funding source. We have no other expectations of Owensboro Health pertaining support of herOes.

How will your event or project improve the health of our community?

Over the past 30 years childhood obesity has doubled for preschoolers age 2-5 and adolescents, age 12-19, while it has more than tripled for children, age 6-11. The short-term and chronic effects of childhood obesity are far-reaching and include teasing/bullying, joint damage, bone problems, and increased risk for high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Additionally, overweight youth are more likely to be overweight or obese adults; in Daviess County 63% of adults are overweight and 24% are obese, leading to increased risk of type II diabetes and heart disease3. Our herOes program works to address this community health need by educating area primary students about the causes and effects of obesity.

What do you desire to accomplish with this event or project? It is our hope that the 70% of our audience will demonstrate increased knowledge concerning obesity.

How many individuals does the event or project propose to serve? We propose to serve 400-500 primary students.

Attach a specific project budget in order for your application to be considered

Project Budget*

Item	Cost	Number	Total
Superhero Costumes	$40.00	10	$400.00
Color Brochures	$0.62	600	$372.00
Props & Set Pieces	$100.00	-	$100.00
Student Prizes	$5.00	10	$50.00
Sub-total	$922.00
Contingency	$70.00
Total Request	$992.00

*Every attempt will be made to defray these estimated costs through in-kind contributions, especially regarding the costume and printing costs. If the totals for these line items are significantly less, leftover funds will be used for props and set pieces for our skit and for student prizes.

For Internal Use Only

Received by __________________________________________ Date_________________

Reviewed by__________________________________________ Date_________________

Approved/Declined____________________________________ Date_________________

Notified Contact ______________________________________ Date _________________

Cogholan, A. 2007. Superheroes fight childhood obesity. New Scientist, 195:8-9.

Smith, L.K. and Fowler, S.A. 1984. Positive peer pressure: the effects of peer monitoring on children’s disruptive behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17: 213-227.

National Research Council. 2005. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Owensboro Medical Health System. 2013.Community Dashboard. Available from http://www.omhs.org/community-wellness/health-needs-assessment/?hcn=Indicators.

Kentucky Health Facts. 2008. Daviess County Health Outcomes. Available from http://www.kentuckyhealthfacts.org/data/location/show.aspx?loc=30