28 projects awarded wellness grants
$100,000 in grants part of new wellness strategy
Twenty-eight groups on P.E.I. have been offered grants by the provincial government as part of its wellness strategy that was launched in January.
The groups were chosen from more than 200 applicants.
There were $100,000 worth of grants available to community groups.
Wednesday's announcement was hosted by Pathways Youth Program, which received a grant to provide healthy snacks and activities to children.
"A grant like this is huge and what it also does is it allows us to focus on what we do best, which is working with the adolescent group … instead of spending all of our time doing events and trying to raise dollars to keep the kids engaged," said Murray MacInnis, the program's co-ordinator.
| Group | Grant | Location | Project Description |
| Adventure Group | $3,700 | Charlottetown | About 100 children (aged 9-14) will attend a three-week summer program on living an active life, living tobacco-free, healthy eating, drinking responsibly and mental health. |
| Brain Injury Association of P.E.I. | $2,600 | Charlottetown | Community members who are brain injury survivors will be offered chair yoga and aquafit. A creative arts program will help dexterity and mobility issues. |
| Canadian Mental Health Association | $4,420 | Queens | Living Life to the Full is an eight-week course for seniors to help them react to challenges in their lives. |
| Charlottetown Farmers Market | $5,000 | Charlottetown | Participants will be given $15 worth of coupons for 15 weeks to shop at the Charlottetown Farmers' Market, and farmers will provide tours of their farms. |
| East Prince Seniors Initiative | $2,300 | East Prince | A community mobilization project to organize and deliver healthy-eating seminars and activities for seniors. |
| East Prince Community Coalition Inc. (Family Place) | $5,000 | Summerside | Will establish a mom-to-mom breastfeeding support group. |
| Heart & Stroke Federation | $5,000 | Province-wide | An online Sugary Drink Challenge will encourage families to reduce sugary drink consumption and increase consumption of healthy drinks. |
| Heart and Stroke Foundation | $2,100 | Charlottetown | Adult stroke survivors and their care partner will take part in a pilot project that will engage them in physical activity, dance and movement. |
| Holland College Food Bank Committee | $2,500 | Summerside | Students will attend Lunch & Learn sessions on buying and preparing whole foods on a budget. |
| Inner City Life Skills Inc | $3,000 | Charlottetown | Summer day camp for children seven to 12 years of age will provide basic food literacy, sports and positive coping skills. These will build concepts of fair play, self esteem through modelling and hands-on experiences. |
| La Coalition Actions pour enfants | $5,000 | Province-wide | A program to educate francophone parents and caregivers on age-appropriate and culturally relevant life skills will enhance children's well being and set the stage for positive mental health. |
| La Leche League | $4,920 | Province-wide | This project will work toward making breastfeeding the cultural norm through a social media campaign and by encouraging a more welcoming atmosphere for breastfeeding in public by providing "Make Breastfeeding Your Business" kits for Island businesses. |
| Le comite acadien et francophone de l'Est | $2,500 | Eastern Kings | This project will educate francophone children and youth on the importance of healthy eating and physical activity through weekly hands-on experiences. |
| L'Association des francophones d'age d'or de I.P.E. (FOAIPE) | $3,000 | Abrams Village | Monthly activities for seniors will be offered from October to March. Different topics will be presented in the morning – stress, diet, mental health and relaxation -- and the afternoon will be spent doing physical activities. |
| Main Street Family Resource Centre | $4,000 | Eastern Kings | Parents and children in the eastern Kings area will be offered weekly hands-on educational opportunities (exercise, outdoor field trips, healthy eating education) to improve skills and knowledge and create a supportive environment for families. |
| The Mount Community Council | $3,000 | Charlottetown | A series of educational seminars will be provided to better educate residents and community members on the benefits of local food production and to promote interest in The Mount's community garden project. |
| Native Council | $2,500 | Province-wide | This project will offer workshops to help teach islanders of all ages how to eat traditional and healthy foods and how to get active and lead a healthy life. The project also involves the start-up of A.A. and Al anon groups. |
| Pathways Youth Program | $5,000 | Charlottetown | A free summer camp for youth aged 12-16 will provide life skills, hands on learning and will challenge youth though role-modeling and education. |
| P.E.I. Association for Newcomers to Canada | $4,000 | Charlottetown | This project will offer refugee and immigrant youth weekly opportunities to improve physical activity, healthy eating, and mental health awareness. This project will also build social networking opportunities, skills, and confidence. |
| P.E.I. Food Exchange | $5,000 | Charlottetown | The Community Food Mentor Program is an initiative to increase community food security and build partnerships to increase the exchange of information on healthy eating practices and local food sourcing. |
| P.E.I. Home & School Federation | $3,500 | Province-wide | Home and school members will arrange for presenters to lead parents and school staff in discussions on various aspects of mental health and mental illness. |
| P.E.I. Reach Foundation | $3,000 | Province-wide | Work-adjustment program clients (all recovering from addictions) will take part in half-day training sessions in various areas of work and life skills. |
| Recreation PEI | $4,000 | Province-wide | The objective for this pilot project is to find volunteers across the Island to create sustainable walking clubs. |
| Seniors College | $3,200 | Province-wide | This project will add a suite of courses targeting physical activity, healthy eating, mental health, and potentially tobacco reduction and alcohol consumption. |
| UPEI Department of Psychology | $5,000 | West Prince | This project will create a forum theatre troupe in western P.E.I. Mothers of young children will be provided with skills and training to deal with challenging situations. The project includes a community presentation to both teach and inspire peers to join in the work. |
| UPEI Chaplaincy Center | $850 | Charlottetown | Soup for the Soul will offer a monthly gathering for students and the campus community by creating a supportive environment for nutritious and low-cost meal preparation. |
| UPEI Student Union | $950 | Charlottetown | The community kitchen would allow a group of students, staff and faculty members to get together once a month and cook and eat a meal together. Participants will learn new recipes that focus on being cost effective and healthy. |
| Western Region Sport and Recreation Council | $5,000 | West Prince | Twice a month participants will be taken on excursions (e.g. snowshoeing, hiking, geocaching, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, archery) followed by a one-hour session on topics such as meditation, mindfulness, focusing, acceptance and balancing. |