Tammy Walker Cancer Center was one of 17 recipients of this year's Chronic Disease Risk Reduction (CDRR) Grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Tammy Walker Cancer Center received a $20,000 planning grant that provides funding, training and technical assistance to address chronic disease risk reduction through evidence-based strategies that impact tobacco use, physical activity and nutrition. Cancer Outreach Coordinator Daniel Craig was the lead grant writer and will be the project manager for the Saline County CDRR grant.
The CDRR grant was the 50th grant that Daniel Craig has received and he credits his internship supervisor at the American Cancer Society, Gaylynn Crosby, for teaching him to write grants and plan community events. “Gaylynn told me ‘If you work in the nonprofit sector grant writing and event planning will be valuable skill sets to have. I am not letting you finish grad school without writing a grantand planning a community health & wellness event.’ We have a lot of great funding organizations in the community and one area I would like to see them focus more on is providing trainings on grant writing so that we can bring in more state and national grant funding to the community” Craig said.
Tammy Walker Cancer Center recently served as the fiduciary agent for Live Well Saline County for the four year $500,000 Pathways to A Healthy Kansas grant initiative that concluded on July 31.
Live Well Saline County allocated $245,288 from the Pathways to A Healthy Kansas grant towards initiatives aimed at increasing access and safety at the Salina Emergency Aid Food Bank. Projects include solar lighting, a site plan, 12 additional parking spaces, 6 bike racks, and a sidewalk that connects the Salina Emergency Aid Food Bank to the Broadway business corridor including links to two City Go Bus stops. Additional funding went to support worksite wellness programs, create a hospital garden and relaxation area, and provide scholarship opportunities for community members to attend training through the Kansas Leadership Center. The one-year Chronic Disease Risk Reduction planning grant from KDHE will enable Tammy Walker Cancer Center to continue the work that started through the Pathways to A Healthy Kansas grant.
One new project currently being worked on is a community website focused on physical activity and nutrition resources in the community. “The Chronic Disease Risk Reduction grant will enable us to bring everyone together so rather than doing a lot of great individual programs and efforts we can work more collaboratively as a community,” Craig said. “Being part of the Chronic Disease Risk Reduction program will provide opportunities for us to learn from other communities and share things that have helped us be successful. This planning grant will enable us to expand the capacity of Saline County organizations to address chronic disease risk reduction and better align community goals.”
