City of Waldron Receives Blue & You Foundation Grant

By Tammy Moore Teague
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (November 16, 2018) – Whether helping to train nurses, supporting community gardens and food programs, providing opioid intervention or funding dental services for the needy, the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas touches the lives of many Arkansans. The Foundation recently awarded a total of $2,733,532 in grants to 42 health improvement programs in Arkansas.
“Our grants this year went to programs across the state that address such issues as nutrition and exercise, food insecurity, emergency medical services and medical professional education,” said Patrick O’Sullivan, executive director of the Blue & You Foundation.
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield established the Blue & You Foundation in 2001 as a charitable foundation to promote better health in Arkansas. The Blue & You Foundation awards grants annually to non-profit or governmental organizations and programs that positively affect the health of Arkansans.
In its 17 years of operation, the Blue & You Foundation has awarded $33 million to 1,566 health improvement programs in Arkansas.
The grants awarded for 2019 include:
City of Waldron ($135,000) – The City’s Forrester-Davis Memorial Park – Phase II Program will construct a basketball court, a sand pit with climbing boulders and dinosaurs, a playground area with swings and connecting sidewalks for development of a multi-use trail.
The Blue & You Foundation received 232 grant applications requesting $17 million in support. The 2019 grant selections were made by Blue & You Foundation board members: Robert D. Cabe, chairman of the board, Little Rock; Mark Greenway, Lowell; James V. Kelley, Little Rock; Carla Martin, Pine Bluff; Dan Nabholz, Conway; Rex Terry, Fort Smith; and Mark White, Little Rock.
The application deadline for the foundation’s next funding cycle is Jul. 15, 2019. For more information about the grant application process, visit the foundation Web site at www.BlueAndYouFoundationArkansas.org.
The foundation is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves the state of Arkansas. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization.