Healthy Community Initiative

From November through March, the Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) Board approved grants to support 11 projects and activities designed to benefit Northfield youth. All projects are funded through HCI’s Investing in Youth grant program.

Funded projects included:

Beyond Words
Beyond Words is an annual event at Sibley Elementary School featuring student artwork.  There will be art, writing, and math activities that students and parents can do together.  Over 500 people are expected to attend this event again this year. Beyond Words is scheduled for April 7, 2016.

Sibley Elementary Pen Pals
Three Links Apartments residents and second grade students from Sibley Elementary School are engaged in a pen pal program that connects local youth with local senior citizens.  An end-of-year celebration is planned for the students go over to Three Links to meet their pen pals.

Circle of Friends
“Circle of Friends” is a program that was created to foster an environment in which all students, with and without disabilities, have opportunities to build rewarding friendships. Circle of Friends works to create a strong connection for students to their community and the individuals that make up the community.

Drug Abuse Prevention Among Teens
Students from Northfield High School spoke with classes at the Northfield Middle School about the dangers of drug and alcohol use. These student presentations included personal testimonies from high school students in recovery.

Plastic Bottle Awareness
This student project was an awareness campaign aimed at educating other students about plastic bottle waste and its effect on the environment.

“A Better Life” Movie Night
A showing of “A Better Life” will be offered to students at the Northfield High School. High school students have planned this event in an effort to bridge communication gaps between Latino and white students at school.

BWCA Experience
Students at the Northfield Area Learning Center are planning a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in early June. The trip offers outdoor experiences and will teach skills to help the youth become stronger individuals in our community.

Senior Class Lock-In
The Senior Class Lock-In will be held on Friday, June 3, the last day of classes for seniors at Northfield High School. Seniors will come to school at 10:00 p.m. that night and are “locked-in” until 4:30 a.m. the next morning. This is a safe, chemical-free event for all 300 seniors.

TORCH College Visit
Northfield Middle School TORCH (Tackling Obstacles and Raising College Hopes) students have organized a college exploration field trip. Approximately fifty 8th grade students will visit and tour South Central College in Faribault and Minnesota State University in Mankato. Students hope to learn about different courses and activities offered at each school and what the requirements are for high school students who plan to attend college.

Northfield Earth Day activities
As part of the annual Earth Day celebration, the youth from Transition Northfield will offer several activities for Earth Day participants. Planned activities include a Coffee-Roasting workshop, where coffee roasting will be taught and information provided about coffee bean farming and how it relates to our world.  Another activity will be the construction of a raised garden bed. The garden bed will be placed locally with the produce available free to the public.  Many other activities are planned.  The Earth Day celebration is scheduled for Saturday, April 23.

After Prom Party 2016
The After Prom Party is an event planned by parents of high school juniors in Northfield. It provides a safe, fun, and chemical-free place for all Northfield juniors and seniors (regardless of whether or not they went to Prom) to continue the celebration after the Prom ends. There will be many activities, including bowling, casino games, bingo, prize drawings, and lots of food. The event will take place after Prom on April 30. Doors open at midnight, and the event runs until 4:00 a.m.

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HCI offers Investing in Youth grants to projects and activities that:

• provide the opportunity for young people to develop positive intergenerational relationships with caring adults and/or
• connect Northfield youth with their communities (ex. neighborhood, school, wider Northfield)

Applications are reviewed monthly and are due by the 8th of the month. Visit www.healthycommunityinitiative.org/investinginyouthgrants for more information and to access the easy-to-complete application.

Funding for the HCI Investing in Youth grants program comes from the Northfield Hospital & Clinics and the Northfield Area United Way.