Duke Health, along with Duke University School of Medicine and Duke CTSI, announce a third round of Rapid Response funding for the Community Initiative to Advance Health Equity Together Through Education and Outreach Grant Program.
Community-serving organizations are encouraged to apply for funding to enhance capacity for health-promoting activities geared towards historically and currently marginalized communities. This initiative helps communities to address a wide range of preventable and treatable chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease, as well as communicable diseases such as influenza and COVID-19.
In addition, this initiative supports activities that provide access to accurate, timely, and trustworthy information and/or services for healthy nutrition related to the prevention and management of chronic diseases.
Eight community-based organizations (CBOs) will each receive a $7,000 award. Program activities must be implemented between January and June 2025. Applications are due by Dec. 16.
The focus for this funding cycle will promote healthier nutrition habits, early detection, and better management of chronic or communicable diseases. It will also foster partnerships to improve access to educational resources and community services, encourage lifestyle changes through activities like community gardening, cooking classes, food boxes, and walking clubs, and expand the "food as medicine" approach.
Organizations should use data to identify areas in Durham County and surrounding communities that have higher rates of unvaccinated residents for COVID-19, flu, obesity, food insecurity, other underlying chronic conditions, which increase risk for severe illness and death.