Eight Colorado-based nonprofits will share a $500,000 grant to help local youth live healthier lives. The initiative is part of a program launched by global healthcare company GSK.

Unveiled at a press event in Denver, “The Youth Driven Healthy Recreation Center Collective” partners the 8 GSK IMPACT Grant recipients – which include LiveWell Colorado and the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Denver – with GSK to accomplish two goals during the 18-month program period:

• Increasing physical activity and healthy eating of youth participating in the healthy eating, active living programs offered at local recreation centers by 10 percent by September 2015; and,
• Empowering 50 youth (12-18) to research and present solutions that will improve the local recreation centers so that more of their peers will access local recreation centers and enter the on-ramp for healthier lives.

The Collective will focus on the Denver neighborhoods of Globeville, Elyria-Swansea, and Northeast Denver.

“So much of our health is influenced by factors outside of the doctor’s office – in our communities. The more we understand this connection between our health and our community, the more we can improve it,” said Deirdre Connelly, president, North America Pharmaceuticals, GSK. “Through the GSK IMPACT Grant, we are funding a very thoughtful collective that can show the nation what it takes to build a healthier community.”

LiveWell Colorado will serve as the fiscal agent for the collective, and will facilitate the cooperation between the partner organizations. Spark Policy Institute, another one of the grant recipients, will ensure ongoing learning and course corrections throughout the partnership. It will also develop the comprehensive final evaluation, which will measure the partnerships’ performance against the collective’s objectives.

The full list of nonprofits in the collective is:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver
• Earth Force
• Globeville Elyria-Swansea LiveWell
• LiveWell Colorado
• LiveWell Northeast Denver
• Share Our Strength Cooking Matters Colorado
• Spark Policy Institute
• The Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation

You can learn more about the Collective by visiting http://us.gsk.com/

You can also watch a video describing the program by clicking here.