The Pioneering Healthier community’s initiative is part of an overall national effort, being led by the YMCA of the USA and local YMCA’s. The work is an ongoing collaboration between the YMCA, Center for Disease Control and the Robert, Wood, Johnson Foundation. In the summer of 2008 the Hot Springs Family YMCA and the Garland County community, through a competitive grant process, became a part of this national initiative.
In December of 2008 a team of community leaders traveled to Washington D.C. in order to participate in a three day educational/training conference which began with preparing a vision statement and work plan for Garland County. Out of this work, Activate Garland County came to be.
Although the Hot Springs Family YMCA plays the role of convener for Activate Garland County, the work itself is carried out as a collaborative effort between citizens and agencies within the county who have a stake in Garland County being a healthy community, with increased physical and nutritional activity where citizens work, play and raise families.
Although the work of Activate Garland County is in its infancy, the work of Pioneering Healthier Communities has proven strategies and models that we know create a change in environment, infrastructure and the way individuals live, work and play.
