DES MOINES, Iowa—The Wellmark Foundation has provided 17 Iowa organizations with Large Matching Assets to Community Health (MATCH) grants. These grant recipients were notified in May and had 16-weeks to secure the required match amount in order to receive their funds from The Wellmark Foundation. All of the funded projects will help individuals, families and communities achieve better health through built environment initiatives that encourage physical activity. Successful grants locally were awarded to the Ames Foundation and Woodward-Granger Community School District.
“The Wellmark Foundation is proud to award a cumulative total of $1,378,908 to these 17 grant recipients,” said Becky Wampler Bland, The Wellmark Foundation executive director. “We applaud the work each of these organizations are doing in their community to improve the well-being of their citizens well into the future.”
The 17 Iowa organizations that were awarded grants include:
· Black Hawk County Conservation Department, $43,600
Cedar Valley Nature Trail Reconstruction
· Buchanan County Conservation Department, $73,715
Iron Bridge Access – Gateway for River Use on the Wapsipinicon River
· Cerro Gordo County Conservation Department, $45,000
Prairie Land Trail – Phases Three & Four
· City of Centerville, $49,168
Accessible City Sidewalks
· City of Cherokee, $100,000
Magnetic Park Trail Development
· City of Keokuk, $100,000
South Riverfront Corridor Trail
· City of Mount Vernon, $100,000
School/Wellness Center Trail
· City of New Hampton, $100,000
New Hampton TRIBE Trail – Phase Two
· City of Osceola, $100,000
Clay Street Park Development
· City of Sergeant Bluff, $25,000
Bishop Park Splash Pad
· City of Urbandale, $50,000
Urbandale All-Inclusive Playground Project
· City of Washington, $100,000
Wellness Park Trail Connection to Kewash Nature Trail
· Dickinson County Trails Board, $100,000
Jones Pasture Trail
· Hardin County, $100,000
Iowa River Trail
· Southeast Iowa Swim Club, $100,000
Dankwardt Pool Bubble Project
· The Ames Foundation, $100,000
Ames Miracle Playground and Field
· Woodward-Granger Community School District, $92,425
Woodward-Granger Early Learning Center Playground
To learn more about these projects, visit Wellmark.com/Foundation. Since 2011, The Wellmark Foundation has provided more than $11 million in grant funding to communities across Iowa and South Dakota.
About The Wellmark Foundation
The Wellmark Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created by Wellmark, Inc., doing business as Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa. Please visit The Wellmark Foundation’s website at wellmark.com/foundation to learn more about our grant program, as well as a list of previous grant recipients. Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and The Wellmark Foundation are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
(contributed press release)
