Mission Health announces 2017 grant awards

Provides $869,000 in cash awards to local agencies

Building upon its $152 million in community benefit provided annually, Mission Health’s Community Investment program is now providing $869,000 in cash contributions to 17 agencies across Western North Carolina to help residents Be Well, Get Well and Stay Well. 

The grants are focused on priority health needs identified via a collaborative community health assessment process.  For the 2017 funding cycle, the focus areas are: Food Security, Healthy Living, Behavioral Health & Substance Abuse, and Interpersonal Violence.

“We truly value the organizations around our region that work on behalf of our most vulnerable residents and share our focus of addressing identified health needs,” said Sonya Greck, MSN, RN, Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health, Safety Net, Community Investment and Project re:DESIGN.  “Mission Health is honored to partner with these organizations as we strive to improve the health and well-being of all residents across western North Carolina.”

Funding priority was given to programs working in one or more counties that are collaborating with other organizations.  One of those partnerships involved YMCA of Western North Carolina and MANNA FoodBank.

“This funding has been instrumental in the expansion of our mobile nutrition work within WNC in partnership with MANNA Food Bank,” said Cory Jackson, the YMCA’s Nutrition and Wellness director. “With this funding we will be able to impact thousands of more individuals and help to move the needle towards a healthier community.”

MANNA FoodBank’s Chief Executive Officer Hannah Randall said the vision of the Mission Health Community Investment program has fast-tracked the agency’s work to provide nutritious food directly to WNC residents who are most at risk for food-related health issues.

“This collaboration with Mission and YMCA, two incredible community partners, furthers our efforts to impact the lives of people experiencing health problems due to a lack of access to fresh, healthy food,” Randall said. "We are confident that this is just the first step into a meaningful future of supporting our community’s health with nutritious food.”

The agencies and programs funded include: All Souls Counseling, Asheville Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement (ABIPA), Bountiful Cities, CARING for Children, Children First/Communities in Schools of Buncombe County, Haywood Street Congregation, Helpmate, Homeward Bound of Western North Carolina, Madison County Health Department, MANNA Foodbank, MemoryCare, Mountain Child Advocacy Center, Pisgah Legal Services, REACH of Macon County, The Council on Aging, YMCA of Western North Carolina, and the YWCA of Asheville and Western North Carolina.

In addition to providing these direct program grants, Mission Health contributes more than $152 million annually in community benefits through charity care, unreimbursed medical education and research costs, and unreimbursed costs of treating Medicare and Medicaid patients.

For more information on Mission Health’s Community Investment program, visit http://www.mission-health.org/communityinvestment.php