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Outstanding National Service - Power of We Consortium
Outstanding National Service Program Award: honors organizations that provide a high-quality national service program that yields a significant impact in a Michigan community.
Power of We Consortium is a health-based AmeriCorps program administered by the Ingham County Health Department. In 2009, officials decided that healthier food systems, greenways, and non-motorized forms of transportation were priorities in reducing the alarming rates of obesity in Ingham County. The program serves low-opportunity neighborhoods of Ingham County and focuses on three goals to reduce chronic diseases: education about healthy lifestyles, reducing obesity and promoting affordable exercise options. The program engaged 10,143 individuals in nutrition education, gardening education & food distributions during the service year. A total of 524 youth learned about eating fruits and vegetables, growing food, making healthy choices, exercise and other topics that will contribute to the reduction of childhood obesity. The Power of We AmeriCorps program helps support these priorities by placing 22 AmeriCorps members at approximately 12 different nonprofit organizations throughout Ingham County. AmeriCorps members also recruited 1,237 volunteers who served 12,466 hours to aid in healthy lifestyles programming.