MaineHealth’s Community Health Improvement Fund has a goal of helping midcoast students get involved, boost their mental health, and make communities healthy.
TOPSHAM, Maine — As the return of the school year approaches, parents and staff will soon look to keep students healthy and happy while they’re learning and even after learning is done for the day.
A new effort led by MaineHealth’s Community Health Improvement Fund looks to reduce financial barriers for after-school program participation in Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties. Each year, the endowment allows the health system to award money for a variety of initiatives.
This focus on school-based programs began last year.
“Our intention is to fund efforts from people who are involved with children, youth, and adolescents, and help them become more active and more involved and know how valued they are,” Mid Coast Hospital President Dr. Christopher Bowe said. “This project and our focus this year is really helping all of the schools in our area.”
Mt. Ararat High School and Mt. Ararat Middle School in Topsham were awarded $190,000 to boost sports programs or other after-school clubs and activities.
Bowe said more than $250,000 will be awarded to schools, after-school programs, and local YMCAs.The goal, he explained, is to give schools in the area the freedom to decide what programs would work best for them.
MaineHealth officials will meet with school leaders throughout the year to check in on progress or to see how the program can be adjusted.
Boosting interest and participation in after-school activities is a way to keep kids engaged and can also provide them with opportunities to connect with trusting adults, Bowe said. It’s just one of several ways MaineHealth is working to build healthy communities. The community health funding endowment also awards money for affordable housing projects and programs that fight food insecurity.
Bowe said something he learned when the school-based projects rolled out last year is that kids are more willing to participate in extracurriculars if food is involved, so many schools use funding to order food as a way to attract students to new activities.
“We know that to really have a healthy community we need well-fed kids who know that they matter and who are excited about their futures and have opportunities in front of them,” Bowe added. “There’s so much that’s beyond simple health care and that we want to partner with our communities because that’s really how you make a community healthy.”
