As a veteran teacher working with students that have emotional and behavioral challenges, I always wanted to create a program that could impact students by developing healthy habits with skills that can be used throughout their lives to manage stress and maintain healthy bodies. When Covid shut everyone down in the spring, I knew that this needed to happen more than ever – my students were isolated and not engaging as they did in the classroom. I read Activate by Katherine Mills Hernandez this summer and was pleasantly surprised to find that much research has been done showing the positive…

This new logo better represent Silver Fox Elite Fitness. It’s beautiful.

At last my mini grant has traction!Self Compassion Matters has LIFT OFF!Dovecot Farm has two retreats scheduled for next week….St Mary’s Medical Team on Wednesday 24th March.A group of therapists and Mental health practitioners in the recovery world on Saturday 27th March…One fascinating trend is emerging in the DISC evaluation response…

Individuals aging out of the foster care system got to engage in art and music therapy activities. It was amazing to bring these young people together in a creative way to learn coping skills and express and process their experience.

I am so grateful to have received my first ever grant from Healthier Neighbors in such a time of need. Also, I am grateful that my introduction to applying for a grant was smooth. As a recipient of the grant it has truly allowed me to make the necessary enhancements to my business for growth. During a pandemic so many people had to pivot personally and professionally, and my grant experience allowed me to do both. Not only was I applying for funds, I had to help others understand the importance of what GLOWrious Bath & Body was on a…

I experience It’s Start With Me Program for 16 weeks and would I learn about the program where ever you are in life you can choose to change your mindset simply by allow yourself to open up to opportunity and improved who you are as person as well and connecting as well network with like mind people this can be challenging and rewarding at the same time when you put your mind to what you are trying to reach for you will be surprise the outcome.

The event that we hosted went well. We had great feedback on the topic about educated the community on sexual crime against children.

Hello, my name is Danielle Morris and I am the founder of Glowrious Bath & Body which is an all natural company specializing in whipped butters, hand-crafted soaps, scrubs, salves and other bath and body essentials. And ultimately, we would love for everyone to have a natural approach to wellness and in our case, one bath at a time. And so my experience with Healthier Neighbors’ mini grant has been phenomenal on a couple of levels. One, I am very grateful for the trainings that were provided, some of the insight, some of the education, because, as a small business…

Community Partners of South Florida invited me to participate in an interview about the Digital Gap Initiative. It was awesome. What a perfect way to end this mini grant cycle. I’ve made great partnerships and I’m ready to go. What a wonderful opportunity for my business start-up. Thank you so very much Healthier Palm Beach and Community Partners of South Florida.

Providing fitness services to Seniors is vital. The human body “needs to keep moving to keep moving.” Healthy Seniors are an inspiration and helping Black Seniors increase their health and physicality is an act of Sankofa, or “going back to correct what has not been done”, for those of us who help make this happen. Creating Silver Fox Elite Fitness is the most important work I have done in my many, many years as a working adult. Silver Fox is committed to making the Golden Years the best years and will continue to tear down the challenges of Ageism and…

I enjoyed the interview process of the mini grant and the application it was easy to apply and the interview team was so kind amd welcoming

This mini grant experience has allowed Youth Empowered to Prosper to roll out a vision that the Director has had to enrich youth in Palm Beach County. Future Leaders Prep Course is designed for high schoolers and youth up to age 22 that focuses on leadership development, financial awareness and job preparedness. This course is designed to provide knowledge and tools for life after high school. We will achieve this through destiny activation development courses that focus on purpose, leadership, entrepreneurship, financial awareness, internships/apprenticeships, career exploration and the like. The goal of these courses is to equip our next…

Family Promise of South Palm Beach County through the BeWell DoWell mini-grant began our series of speakers for “Sharing Survival Stories Saturday” on November 7, 2020. The purpose of the series of eight speakers over the next twelve months is for formerly homeless mothers to share their story of how they overcame extreme adversity and challenges and draw from their strength to become successful women, business leaders and mothers.Our first speaker was Shandra Stringer, who left the care of her grandmother at 16 years old, to escape a harsh life and to focus finishing high school. …

My process is going better now that we have launched the art call. Since February, we have had over 12 organizations sign up to be involved, and over 25 artists have submitted to the art call.

Silver Fox Elite Fitness is committed to carving Black and Caribbean Seniors a culturally relevant space in the fitness industry. The voices of Seniors is key to this goal. On February 13th Silver Fox hosted the inaugural Virtual Black Senior Fitness Fair providing a platform for Senior voices on issues of health and wellness. The event featured Ernestine Shepard, the legendary 84 year old body builder and fitness professional. Black Senior Fitness Fair segments can be viewed on the Silver Fox Elite Fitness Facebook Channel https://bit.ly/silverfoxelitefitness

South Grade Elementary is a Title I school, where 99% of our students are economically disadvantaged and 97% of our population are minority students, most of which are recent immigrants to the US. We recently became an AVID school, which focuses on college and career readiness from a young age. South Grade Elementary School was the recipient of a mini-grant from Healthier Lake Worth; the grant was in support our 4th and 5th grade Avid students obtaining a shirt that promote college readiness. On February 25th we had a grand revealing of the shirt, that was designed in-house. It was…

This was about a most exhilarating class with incredible students. As an observer, I loved the interaction that the instructor personally had with the students, as well as with the coaches Daniel and Phil and the excellent workout to begin the class with. After watching all of you, I am going to implement such workout at home for myself. I loved the idea of a student practicing with a racket and a balloon. Tossing the ball against the wall for eye/hand coordination and walking the dog (ball) around the room and chair. I just cannot say enough about the satisfaction…

So far the Celebrating Diversity project has been able to conduct the first two workshops of the year long project. As one of the facilitators it has been amazing to see the artwork that that the have created by the youth during the workshops. So far we have been able to discuss topics related to using art to express you inner self and how art can be used as social commentary. During the last project a majority of participants reported that they learned something new about themselves, learned something about expressing themselves through art, and feel that they can express…

Torrie Anderson-Stinson, I think the Ladybugs Art Boxes were a good idea. My children and I received our art kits and they were nicely done. For my family it was hour of fun. It was a stress reliever for me. Especially when I need a break from the kids. I was able to focus. It allowed me to be creative and motivated to create more things. I also received a nice adult coloring book. It allowed me to be at peace. This box was very useful. I’d recommend everyone get them a ladybugs art box. Thanks Ladybugs

We have completed three courses so far for our future leaders primarily for high schoolers in PBC. So far the theme has been on leadership development in which the courses focused on discovering your purpose, goal setting through vision boards, and tonight on public speaking. Every class has a keynote speaker who is a subject matter expert and each one so far as imparted seeds of knowledge, discovery and engagement. In many of the surveys so far, the youth have expressed that they never really thought about their purpose or that they didn’t know that every person on this planet…

Our community garden is flourishing. One of our regular volunteers who is partly responsible is Frank, who volunteered for about 2 months every Saturday. He also made himself available for other handyman jobs around our church to keep busy. He saved up the money he earned as he was trying to get housing. Recently, we found out he was able to find permanent housing and get off the streets. He still does not have personal transportation and his new home is not on a bus line where he can continue to work in the garden. His energy, hard work, and…

Sister to Sister had it’s first Mentor Training Experience. We had 3 staff, 17 Mentors (black, Hispanic, Asian, and mixed race) of women and a trainer through Zoom to learn about how to work with their mentees. It was discus what techniques Mentors could use to connect with their mentees. In addition, Mentors were informed that they would have a folder that they could access to review what was discuss during the training with further resources. Actually, a comment was given by a participant that it was well organized and they felt that it would help them…

In my mini grant experience it has beyond awesome! My first experience was involving the youth! I was to teach the kids about photography! We went out into the Glades and we share and compare personal feelings to the photos that were taken! We discussed how a picture has so many different meanings it was all about how you were able to look at it. I was able to give them a real hands on experience before COVID! My current mini grant has to do with getting back to basics! We are actually in process of building a garden retreat!…

Our grant award has helped dozens of low-income migrant women discover health and wellness programs that enrich their lives and alleviate stress. We are pleased to say that many of these mothers participate in our yoga, Zumba, and nutrition workshops with their spouses and children, and it has been amazing to see their growth so far.

October 10 is World Mental Health Day each year and this year New Song Church hosted the first Mental Health & The Church Conference in partnership with Palm Beach Atlantic University School of Education & Behavioral Studies.New Song Church was proud to receive $2000 for the 2020 HN granting term. We used those funds as part of the Mental Health and the Church Virtual Conference which was held from 9-4 pm with an after party at 7:30 pm. The conference had 50 people registered (13 of those were youth). The goal of the conference was connecting spirituality and mental health…

Hello, I’d like to update you about the Youth Hydroponic Farming and Mentoring Project 2. On November 10, we kicked off where we held a mentoring session with youth at the Lindsay Davis Center, the youth empowerment program. We spoke about a wide range of topics ranging from healthy eating to food production , and also we went to address some issues going on during the pandemic right now. On November 17, we went outside and then we began to construct the hydroponic tank. It was very windy that day. We did not put any water in that tank and…

While personally experiencing the disconnect from family, friends, community and church, I often thought about our Seniors and what they might be going through due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Distancing. In discussing this with others and realizing some Seniors are further restricted by vision, hearing and mobility impairments we felt the need was urgent. So we sought to find a solution to this issue and to help our most precious citizens cope during this time to avoid isolation and loneliness thereby avoiding negative effects on their mental and social wellbeing. As we investigated possible solutions, we discovered voice…

One of the workshops that was held called “Eye 2 Eye,” gave participants a chance to reflect on how they perceived themselves in relation to the world around them. The task was to paint an eye, and within that eye, depict the inner “you”. It was an eye opener (pun intended) to see people from differing backgrounds come together and share their amazing artwork as they described themselves and reasoning for why they painted what they painted. Speaking personally, it was a fun and relaxing way to end the day while supporting the growth of others.

Thanks to the support of the Healthier Neighbors mini grant, I was able to Fast Track my training as a Silver Sneakers Flex instructor. I can now offer culturally relevant fitness classes to Silver Sneakers members as no charge. (imagine fitness classes with Motown! Doo Wop! Jazz! Drum! etc.) Silver Fox is also preparing to bring a variety of culturally relevant fitness options directly to Community Seniors through non-profits, Community Based Organizations, Senior Living sites, and Senior Day programs. With the right support, we are poised to bring: QiGong for Cane or Chair, Kemetic Yoga for Seniors, African and Caribbean…

Family Promise of South Palm Beach County is very excited about our first event “Sharing Survival Stories Saturday” on November 7th. It is through the BeWell DoWell mini-grant that our idea of sharing stories of single mothers surviving homelessness to thrive as successful women, mothers and entrepreneurs. The goal is to motivate and support the moms as they journey on their road to success!

Since receiving the mini grant, I have been looking for other ways to encourage ladies to work on their well-being outside of just working out. So I have started to incorporate Fit Mom Tips of the Week, as well as healthy meal options, and then just advice on how to care for yourself as a woman with self-esteem, with confidence, being able to accept where you are now and how you can make yourself better, not just for you, but for your family as a whole, and just helping women to work on themselves as a whole package.

Healthier Jupiter’s mini grant opened the the door to exercise for low income at risk kids.

Hello, my name is Tamar Watson and I am the co-creator of the ladybugs art box. It has been a pleasure creating these art boxes for individuals throughout the community. I’ve enjoyed seeing the people’s faces light up, when they received an art box. With this pandemic going on so many people are lacking things for everyday use. Our art boxes it gives them time clear up some space in their heads, they can just sit for hour coloring, painting or even journaling. I am glad we were able to make these ladybugs art boxes for the children and adults.…

With the help of this grant, I was able to receive all proper licenses, secure logos and marketing materials as well as purchase Home Workout Kits for my inventory. This grant allowed me to see my vision through and show that I am serious about my business and all of my marketing materials are made of quality and show professionalism.

After receiving the mini grant for a small business start-up, we were able to get all of the required licenses, as well as do a lot of marketing pieces: getting the logo created, doing business cards, flyers, etc. And we were able to present our first contract proposal and we are currently awaiting the final results for doing property management for a small building inside of an HOA community.

This mini grant was liberating and allowed me to make an impact in a creative way. I had a vision of empowering youth all over the County by shifting mindsets. This vision is not just about planting seeds of purpose, leadership, financial know how, and the like–it is about uprooting generational seeds of poverty and lack. This Future Leaders course is designed to deposit seeds of abundance and to tap into a curiosity about themselves and the world, which may not have existed before. I have had the freedom to invite keynote speakers who are passionate about a topical area…

One client, Mr. L, is a former boxer who truly understood the importance of fitness. I could see a difference just in the few sessions we had.

So far, we have hosted three meetings with key stakeholders in the hospital / medical fields. There is interest in the Self Compassion mini grant. With Covid numbers, the one day retreats will be pushed to Q one 2021. The story is unfolding.

My experience of this mini-grant was one where the kids that attended the Theater Appreciation/Monologue Acting Workshop were free to express themselves in their own, unique way. They expressed what they wanted to get out of the workshop, what they came to work on, and what their biggest “take-aways” at the end of the 2-hour workshop. I experienced them experiencing connection with everyone there, a safe and sacred space, creating value through creative self-expression, exploring their passions, and building their experience/expertise and knowledge around that workshop’s topics. We could’ve stayed longer than the 2 hour-window we had set and scheduled…

This 12 week mini grant opened my mind and heart to all 7 impact areas which in turn has truly assisted me in being a better me all around. I’m looking forward to part 2!

Hello my name is Verna Neely, I’m the founder of the Ladybugs of The Palm Beaches and the creator of the Ladybugs Art Box. I was given my first art kit when I was a little girl. It helped me to easy my mind during my many medical issues. I am a self taught artist . I have a degree in arts. When I find myself depressed, stressed or just angry. I pick up my art supplies. Art helps me to calm down . When I’m done I have some of the most beautiful pieces. Working with healthier Neighbors and…

For the Women Helping Women mini-grant, we’ve been very receptive in regards to client mental health needs during this difficult time as it relates to world affairs. Previously, we were offering virtual-only Zumba classes every Monday evening as a COVID-19 safety measure. Now that restrictions have been relaxed, we have recently been able to offer in-person Zumba classes at the park next to our site to great success. Originally, our numbers for virtual Zumba were small but steady. However, since we’ve started offering in-person classes, those numbers have been growing! Our participating clients love in-person Zumba classes and have commented…

With the grant, I was able to receive all required licenses with the city and county to operate. I was also able to secure a domain name for my website and have a logo created for my business that is eye catching. I have the required software needed to create Proposals, Presentations and Documents to present my information in a professional matter.

Working on Center for Child Counseling’s training, Healing the Healers: Creating Happy Healthy Healers and a Happy Healthy Workforce, during this global pandemic has been an interesting and eye-opening endeavor. In our lifetime, there has never been a more challenging time in health and mental health care in terms of the major stressors professionals and clients/patients alike are experiencing at the same time. Working as a helper/healer has always been a challenging and stressful career choice, although for those who survive and thrive in such careers long-term, we also find tremendous reward, satisfaction, and joy from our work. However, with…