AHA/ASA announces recipients of Community Impact Grants in Greater Utica area

UTICA — Fifteen local organizations will receive Community Impact Grants for community projects to improve the health of the Greater Utica area from the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA), the organization recently announced.

The grants were awarded to the following organizations: Pathfinder Village, Bassett Healthcare Network, Research Institute, Johnson Park Center, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County, Masonic Care Community, Center for Family Life and Recovery, Mount Markham Central School District, The Arc Oneida-Lewis Chapter of NYSARC, The Boilermaker Road Race, Insight house CDS, Inc., Hart’s Hill Elementary School, Mohawk Valley Institute for Learning in Retirement, Elderlife, Inc., Notre Dame Elementary School, and the Midtown Utica Community Center.

This year’s recipients received between $1,500 and $5,000, for a total community investment of $58,000, according to a news release issued by the AHA/ASA.

Local organizations started applying for grants last December. Project proposals needed to focus on reducing cardiovascular disease and its risk factors by specifically targeting issues like childhood obesity or family health, the release noted. The AHA/ASA said it gave “special consideration” to projects aimed at improving access to healthy foods and increasing CPR/AED training and implementation in the community. A committee of local community volunteers reviewed and ranked the grant applications by the projects’ alignment with the mission of the AHA/ASA.

The funded projects, include Pathfinder Village creating the Pathfinder Produce Market, including purchasing additional growing supplies and equipment to help adults and students learn about healthy gardening. Another project has Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County using funds toward youth-outreach programs to empower teens to grow, process, distribute, and cook with fresh fruits and vegetables grown at the Boilermaker Urban Garden.

“We were so happy to see the level of creative projects being developed to support the fight against heart disease and stroke,” Marolyn Wilson, chairwoman of the AHA/ASA Greater Utica Area advisory board. “There were many merit-worthy projects that would result in improvements in the cardiovascular health of our community. The decisions were not easy.”