I received a Ladybugs Art Box. I was very excited. I love to draw and paint. With this box I would like to make all kinds of crafts. I don’t think I want to become a professional artist. But I would use it to become better at painting and drawing, then I can use it […]

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

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.

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. […]

Oh my ! The grant process was a frantic one in Q4 2020. I reached out to a number of contacts and felt that some traction was being made…Then nothing. Year-end kicked in. So did the challenges of Covid. I felt everything grinding to a halt. The initial meetings and potential connections’ interest appeared to […]

With the funds that I was able to receive from the mini grant, I purchased some resistance bands to use with my online Zoom class because of the whole pandemic restrictions at the time. The bands that I had left over, I was actually able to use those and give them to the ladies that […]

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 […]

Women Helping WomenA Story of SuccessLake Worth West Resident Planning Group, Inc. has been able to provide educational workshops to the community for many years. We have been blessed to have great community partners who facilitate capacity building workshops about a variety of topics to educate the Lake Worth West families and raise awareness regarding physical and mental health, nutrition, safety, and child development, among others.In 2016, the Lake Worth West staff realized the need to offer a safe space for the Lake Worth West women to share with other women their own experiences, challenges, and successes as mothers and…

Behave Healthy Riviera Beach will focus on teaching school aged children the benefits of healthy eating and making healthy decisions. This program is an community initiative created by Smoothie Me Please, a local smoothie bar in Riviera Beach. Students will be able to virtually attend live workshops and cooking classes. The classes will explore how to wash and prep/cut fruits and vegetables. The students will be empowered to make their own smoothie meal prep kits for themselves and the family.

I’m so excited to announce that Cooking With Ms. Shavon is no longer just an idea, it is a business!!!!! I’m currently working obtaining my business licensing and remarketing due to Covid19. Thank you, HN for believing in me and my business!

Thanks to the kind support from Healthier Neighbors tomorrow is launch day for Silver Fox Elite Fitness. We will begin recruiting seniors in the targeted area codes for free personal fitness sessions. In a matter of weeks, this bright idea and compassion for community elders is now a fully registered, certified, and insured mobile fitness busienss. Silver Fox Elite Fitness is preparing to activate beautiful outdoor and indoor vitural studios and is poised to provide virtual fitness sessions. These vital spaces are possible due to the generous help of Community Partners of South Florida which awarded Silver Fox Elite Fitness…

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…

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 […]

One of the most effective Silver Fox outreach efforts is the Tiki Market Mini Sessions. This allows direct interaction with Seniors in the target zipcodes. I gathered more that 30 prospects over 2 days and converted 11 into clients and great prospects. Silver Fox provided more than 20 hours of complementary training to Seniors.

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.

I recently was really worried about the artist submissions for the ball. At first we have only 12 submissions. Then we had 24 submissions as of March 26. I was worried that we would not have a lot of people to sign up (since the Call to Art was over with on the 5th of […]

Thanks to the help of Community Partners of Southern Florida, I’m able to construct both indoor and outdoor virtual fitness studios so I can continue to serve seniors in spite of the dangers of the COVID pandemic.

This the assistance of this Mini Grant, I was able to schedule and fund my first Boot Camp. Due the the COvid-19, I am unable to complete a physical face to face camp, so I am hosting my first of many via Zoom Meeting online. The Boot Camp will take place on November 7th at 12 noon. I have about 15 mothers signed up so far from the West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach areas. They all received a limited edition resistance band in the mail (purchase with some of the mini grant funds) to utilize during the Boot Camp. I…

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 […]

On November 10, SPARC was able to complete its first online training with over 60 Early Head Start center owners and staff under the Early Learning Coalition. The training was a professional edition of an earlier training presented to families last year at BRIDGES Riviera Beach (also thanks to the HN Mini-Grant). With this year’s grant, I was able to upgrade the training, the Zoom platform membership, and utilize new technology (a tablet) to offer a more stable and engaging online training experience. The participants loved the training! As the presenter, any anxiety I had was whisked away as I…

While coordinating the Outreach breakfast program, I asked for volunteers to work in our community garden on Saturdays from 7-9am. On the next Saturday 3 people showed up, 2 of whom were homeless. We worked together putting bricks around new garden beds, watering the entre garden, and planting vegetable plants and harvesting produce to be given out on the next day at breakfast. They enjoyed it so much they asked to come back the following Saturday. They continue to come and have spread the word in the community. We are up to 7 volunteers on a regular basis. We give…

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 […]

This month ended our mini grant experience. I am so grateful and thankful to have been chosen as a grant recipient. This was my first time writing and applying for a grant so I am extremely happy that I was able to have this experience. I originally went into this with thinking that I was going to have a partner to help with implementing/executing the project but my partner ended up leaving the agency so I was the main one in charge throughout the majority of the grant. It was very stressful and tiring at times to try to coordinate…

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.

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.

I am ready to begin scheduling Seniors for free personal fitness sessions. Introductory sessions will begin in 1 week! So many things have come to life in such as short time. Silver Fox Elite Fitness is a fully registered LLC. With the help of a finanical planner and business mentor, Silver Fox has great business plan with both short and long term goals. With the help of a Dope Trifecta Media a website and social media platforms are in the final phases and here is a great new logo. Silver Fox is also insured and poised to set up boht…

This grant writing was a fun experience. When I first got the email announcing the grant, I got so excited. I had this idea of supporting mental health workers/healthcare workers for a long time. According to research burnout and compassion fatigue are big issues among healers, in addition due to current COVID-19 pandemic this issue has become even bigger. Writing this and receiving the grant was a great experience!

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…

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.

There have been three workshops that have occurred since the first sensemaker update I believe. There wasn’t the turnout of youth that I was hoping for and it has been very hard to get to youth to come to the events. At the beginning of the grant I had another co-worker helping with the grant. […]

Dovecot Farm hosted Barn to Bedside retreat for a leadership team from St Mary’s Hospital Medical Center on Wednesday 24th March.We incorporated a blend of equine interactions, DISC self awareness, sound healing and drumming as well as HeartMath breathing techniques and nature therapy.It was a full day retreat with much needed healing for our healers.Many […]

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 […]

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 […]

I recently taught a Drum Circle Class at Vita Nova. Everyone learned the basic skills so quickly, leading to a very fluid session. I enjoyed getting to know everyone’s stories and how music played a role in their lives. My favorite moment was when each person shared a song that meant a lot to them; […]

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 […]

Glowrious Bath & Body is healing our community one bath at a time. Using A Natural Approach To Wellness, Glowrious Bath & Body provides individuals with an opportunity to use quality natural ingredients for skin care and self-care. The vision is to not only be a product based business, but additionally an informational and education platform in helping others find natural and therapeutic remedies to meet their needs. With that said, COVID was a game changer. I was and still am presented with the question of “How am I going to have meaning exchanges with my consumers?” And with this…

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 […]

AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) As a recipient of Healthier Jupiter’s first mini grant, we are happy to share our story of success. Within our “Charter Neighborhoods” there was, and is, a need for an opportunity for the youth to come together and play; Soccer was the preferred sport. I applied to AYSO to open a region in Jupiter. When the request was approved, we began playing soccer at the Jupiter Elementary School field on weekends. In the second year of play, HJ awarded AYSO Region 1639 a mini grant of $2500 for continuation of our soccer program with an…

Began building Silver Fox Elite Fitness from the ground up by shopping for a few essentials. Also, did some online shopping, or at least research, for mobile fitness equipment. It all felt awesome.

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…

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 […]

The Healthier Jupiter Mini-Grant served as a catalyst for our organization to bring the benefits of boxing – exercise, discipline, and fun – to young students throughout the Jupiter area. The boxing program brought together students from all walks of life. The best part was seeing students laugh and learn lessons that they will be […]

I had severe anxiety about the venue for the event. Renting a venue and also providing refreshments for a crowd of people can be difficult and very pricey. I listed the help of Kenya Chaney from Healthier Delray Beach, and she helped me get a meeting with the curator for the Arts Warehouse. To make a long story short, the meeting resulted in me getting the venue for free. Not only will it be for free, but I will also be allowed to keep the artowrk their for an entire month(May)

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. […]

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

Vida Smith sharing her story of survival and struggle from domestic violence and being a homeless mother to a successful PhD candidate truly inspired me — as I listened to her story as part of Family Promise SPBC’s Sharing Survival Stories Saturday. My role at Family Promise is to interview the storyteller and prep them […]

Glee and wide-eyed enthusiasm are not typical descriptors of middle school students, but I can honestly say that’s what is seen on competition days. Five minutes of “fitness training” every class period has given most students the confidence and motivation to use their new skills to become class champions for the week. Even better, some […]

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. She went on to…

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!