Kathy Higgins Named President of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation

Chapel Hill, NC – The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation (BCBSNC Foundation) today announced a grant program to help rural communities become healthier by promoting physical activity among their residents.

Up to five organizations will be awarded Fit Together grants by the BCBSNC Foundation. These organizations will be responsible for developing and maintaining partnerships within the community to help implement programs, policies, projects and promotional strategies to increase active living. Selected organizations will each receive up to $40,000 per year for three years.

"Rural communities have just as great a need as larger communities to help their residents lead more active, healthy lifestyles, but they often don't have the same kind of resources to help them put that into practice," said Kathy Higgins, vice president of the BCBSNC Foundation. "These grants are designed to help bridge that gap and to promote healthier communities."

Fit Together grants are modeled after Active Living by Design, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The grants are designed to promote innovative and integrated strategies to increase access and reduce barriers to physical activity in rural communities. Eligible applicants must be nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charities or governmental organizations and must be planning to implement their projects within one of North Carolina's 85 rural counties (as defined by the NC Rural Economic Development Center).

Grant applications and full details of the grant program are available at the BCBSNC Foundation’s Web site, www.bcbsnc.com/foundation.

The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, December 16, 2005. Those interested in learning more about the grants can participate in one of two conference calls to be held on Tuesday, October 25 at 11 a.m. or Wednesday, November 2 at 2 p.m. Registration information can be found at the BCBSNC Foundation’s Web site.

In 2003, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina partnered with the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission to create Fit Together, a statewide campaign designed to raise awareness about the dangers of unhealthy weight and, more importantly, to equip individuals, families and communities with the tools they need to address this very serious health concern. In support of this initiative, the BCBSNC Foundation created the Fit Together grant program, committing $250,000 for each of the three years. Plans are underway to announce additional Fit Together initiatives this fall. These will include a grant and designation program to recognize and support communities and organizations taking innovative steps to promote physical activity and healthy eating.