The fourth year of the Alberta Blue Cross® Healthy Communities Grant Program has wrapped up and four organizations from across Alberta have been selected to each receive $50,000 grants to promote active living in their communities.

Through the program, Alberta Blue Cross® has committed to investing $1 million over a five-year period to promote active living across Alberta. Four $50,000 grants are being awarded each year to support community amenities and facilities that promote active living, with a particular emphasis on children. Funding for the program comes from the ABC Benefits Corporation Foundation.

We received more than 85 applications, in 2016, for a wide range of initiatives from all regions and corners of the province. We received many deserving applications for a number of great initiatives including playgrounds, outdoor gyms, walking paths and recreation centre upgrades.

One of the goals of the program is to provide support for a variety of projects and also to spread the grants over the province to provide regional diversity over the life of the program.

The projects that were selected to receive grants in 2016 are

  • Edmonton: L.Y. Cairns junior and senior high school—outdoor gardening area and fitness circuit;
  • Calgary: Auburn Bay elementary school—new playground;
  • secondary cities: Fort Saskatchewan Win Ferguson elementary and middle school—replacement of two playground structures; and
  • rural communities: St. Paul—new community skateboard and BMX park.

If you have a project that aligns with our grant program, consider applying. Alberta Blue Cross® will begin accepting 2017 grant applications on June 1, 2017.

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