Clarksville-Montgomery County Community Health Foundation approves $792,000 in grants

11
Jul

CA students come up with creative fitness ideas

CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — The Clarksville-Montgomery County Community Health Foundation – a public advocacy board entrusted with disbursing public assets flowing from Clarksville Volunteer Health Inc. – approved almost $792,000 in grants Wednesday, including $118,530 for a proposal conceived by a group of Clarksville Academy students to institute a solar-powered bicycle sharing system at both McGregor and Liberty parks.

Clarksville Volunteer Health is the 20 percent minority joint-venture partner in Gateway Medical Center, and is an entity that exists to transfer revenues and receipts from publicly-owned assets in Gateway to the Community Health Foundation for distribution to various health-related initiatives.

‘B-Cycle’

In its quarterly meeting Wednesday, the Community Health Foundation chaired by Mike O’Malley awarded the total from a currently-available pool of $843,000 in receipts.

A total of $896,000 in grants was requested this go-around, but not all of them were approved.

The “B-Cycle” conceived by the “CBL Group” from CA awaits City Council acceptance since it would be installed in city parks. But, if approved, the system would include 14 docking stations and 10 bicycles at both park locations, and would be placed along the walking trails.

“The goal is to improve health and increase the physical activity in our community,” said the grant application.

Through the proposed system, a bike can be rented at a kiosk using a touch screen. There are 30-minute rentals that would be free, and then various time intervals would be assessed for purchase beyond the 30-minute limit. Rentals could also be done online, and memberships could be purchased. A credit card would be used at the kiosk.

The grant application said any monies collected would be used by Clarksville Parks & Recreation for maintenance of the stations and other related costs. The payment scale is modeled after Nashville’s B-Cycle program.

Other approvals

Also Wednesday, the Community Health Foundation was sold on a separate proposal from some CA students collectively called the “Fitness Squad,” who requested $51,790 to fund two new fitness circuits for Rotary Park and the Greenway. The circuits would be modeled after the one already functional at Liberty Park. The approval is pending local government acceptance.

And, there were these approvals Wednesday:

• A $239,000 grant for nursing scholarships at Austin Peay State University for the 2014-15 school year, as requested by the APSU Foundation

• A $186,500 grant for SAFE (Soldiers and Families Embraced), to continue counseling services to service members, veterans and families

• A grant for $48,737 for continuation of the Coordinated School Health Program in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System

• A $46,000 grant for the LEAP youth development organization to fund a portion of its program aimed at reducing youth consumption of controlled substances, alcohol and tobacco.

• $32,000 for a new wheelchair van for the Montgomery County Veterans Transport Service

• $23,744 to help additionally fund the YMCA of Middle Tennessee’s Restore mental health and ABC (After Breast Cancer) programs

• $15,000 for Nurses for Newborns, a local organization that exists to “provide a safety net for families at-risk, help prevent infant mortality and prevent child abuse and neglect through in-home nursing visits

The Community Health Foundation currently consists of these members, in addition to O’Malley: Dr. Marcos Arancibia, Priscilla Story, Ben Kimbrough, Dr. Anne Black, Joey Smith, Kay Drew, Jack B. Turner, Khandra Smalley, Suzanne Uffelman, Dr. Jennifer Ellis, Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan and Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers.

Jimmy Settle, 245-0247
Business editor
jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com
Twitter: @settle_leaf

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