Muskegon, MI - October 2, 2003 << Return to Press Release Page For More Information, Call: Vondie Woodbury, Director Muskegon Community Health Project 231.728.3201 or Arnold (Arn) Boezaart, Vice President, Grant Programs Community Foundation for Muskegon County 231.722.4538 Muskegon Community Health Project and Community Foundation “Next Generation” program launch “Imagine Muskegon Healthy!” Imagine…a healthy future for the children of Muskegon County. Imagine… healthy, non-smoking adults of average weight with fewer incidences of diabetes, hypertension and asthma. Imagine… a plan to make this happen in the Muskegon region! The Muskegon Community Health Project and members of the Next Generation young philanthropist group of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County will introduce Imagine Muskegon Healthy”, a new community health initiative, to the community on Friday, October 22, at the fifth annual Partnership for Health Conference at the Muskegon Harbor Holiday Inn. Imagine Muskegon Healthy is a three-phase program designed to increase the Muskegon area’s awareness of its current poor health status, create a community consensus of the most significant health problems, and identify and design solutions to produce a healthier community. A catalyst for this important new community health initiative is Stay Active Muskegon (SAM) a collaborative of health providers, business leaders and community members. A recent survey showed 66.5 percent of Muskegon County residents are currently overweight and 28.8 percent are obese. This is significantly higher than the state average of 61 percent and 22.5 percent respectively. Muskegon County also has a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes than other Michigan counties. The Foundation’s Next Generation Committee recently awarded a $7,000 Challenge Grant to support the “Imagine Muskegon Healthy!” project. Beginning November 1 the Committee will match, up to $7,000, one dollar for every two obtained from other community sources, to support Phase 1 of the project. Cont. Pg.2 “The impact of Muskegon County’s poor health status affects not individuals and families but the very economic and social fabric of our community”, notes Vondie Woodbury, Director of Muskegon Community Health Project. “We are improving, and building the infrastructure and resources to enable this change.” Roger Morgenstern, chairperson of the Next Generation Committee states that the health of Muskegon County families is a challenge worth tackling, “We’re in the process of building a new Muskegon and our new Muskegon needs to be a healthier Muskegon. We hope, as we remake and redesign our downtown, that we make it pedestrian friendly to allow lots of healthy activity”, states Morgenstern. “We also need to educate people throughout the Muskegon region to make healthy choices and to offer their children healthy choices”. Based on the successful Imagine Muskegon! model, which results in a new vision for downtown Muskegon, Imagine Muskegon Healthy! will also use a community –based, grass roots planning process involving community “design charettes” from which a comprehensive community health plan will be developed. Imagine Muskegon Healthy! will rely on input from a broad range of professionals including physicians, other medical, mental and behavioral health professionals, human services providers, political and religions leaders, government officials, parents, children and neighborhood groups. The Partnership for Health Conference is scheduled from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. October 22 at the Harbor Holiday Inn. The key-note speaker will be Dr. Douglas Henry, of the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. Dr. Henry is a pediatric endocrinologist with a special interest in childhood obesity. The Community Foundation for Muskegon County was created in 1961 to improve the quality of life for Muskegon County residents. A publicly supported community endowment, the Foundation receives and manages contributions from community citizens and organizations who are committed to the future of Muskegon County. Supporting community projects in the areas of Arts, Education, Community Development, Environment, Health and Human Services and Youth issues, the Foundation reflects the collective vision of Muskegon County residents and provides a cost effective method for contributing to the community through gifts of any size and of many types. << Return to Press Release Page