Local Health Honorees Fight Obesity; Support LGBTQIA+ Youth

BOULDER, CO -- Boulder County Public Health announced the winners of the 2019 Boulder County Healthy Community Awards this week. This year's honorees are Growing Gardens, Lynn Gilbert, and the St. Vrain Valley Safe Schools Coalition, according to a Boulder County Health news release.

The award, offered each year since 2006, recognizes acts of significant work that has improved the health and well-being of people in Boulder County by bringing gardening and nutrition education to preschools; helping to pass the sugary drink tax in Boulder; and positively impacting the lives of LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual +) children and youth.

Here is what Boulder County Health has to say about each of the recipients:

• Growing Gardens has brought gardening, nutrition education, and produce donations to over 136,000 Boulder County residents in the past 20 years. In 2018, Growing Gardens collaborated with Boulder County Public Health to provide 400 seeds and plant starts to 19 child care programs in the city of Boulder that participate in the Farm to Early Childhood Education Program. Growing Gardens also offered free gardening classes for parents, child care staff, and children. In 2019, they will provide free nutrition education for 300 children attending preschools in the city of Boulder, as well as distribute 800 plant starts and 120 seed packets to 31 child care programs.
• Lynn Gilbert has been an integral member of the Healthy Boulder Kids Coalition to support the passage of the sugary drink tax in Boulder. Since 2013, Lynn lent her expertise and hundreds of hours to support healthy eating and active living efforts in Boulder County. Specifically, she shared her knowledge and expertise of obesity-related diseases, health inequities, and evidence-based interventions. In the name of community health and equity, Lynn attended nearly every city council meeting in Boulder related to the tax; spoke with countless community members and leaders about the importance of the tax; prepared testimony and spoke at city council hearings; paid for signs and advertisements out of her own pocket; and wrote letters to the editor. She has truly impacted the Boulder community through her grassroots advocacy. The tax is anticipated to prevent nearly 1,000 children from becoming obese, lead to a 10% reduction in the incidence of diabetes, and avert 17 deaths in a 10-year period.
• St. Vrain Valley Safe Schools Coalition (SVSSC) has convened diverse community members and organizations to support and advocate for LGBTQIA+ students in the St. Vrain Valley School District for the past ten years. Through the power of their collective voices, SVSSC members have advocated for and provided age-appropriate LGBTQIA+ literature to all school libraries in the district; advocated for and supported the development of gay-straight alliance (GSA) clubs in all middle and high schools; advocated for implementation of district-wide guidelines for educators to support transgender and gender non-conforming youth; and organized support for bullying prevention efforts in the school district.

The community is invited to celebrate the work and achievements of the award recipients on April 4, from 2–4 p.m. at the St. Vrain Community Hub at 515 Coffman St. in Longmont.