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Resources: Local and Regional Resources

Click on the links below to see what Friends of the SC SRTS Resource Center are offering across South Carolina and in your region.

Statewide

Eat Smart Move More South Carolina - The SC Eat Smart Move More Coalition coordinates obesity prevention efforts across the state and leads the implementation of South Carolina's Obesity Prevention Plan. The intent of this coalition is ongoing collaboration between state agencies, business and industry, health care organizations, schools, academia, community based groups and coalitions and a broad range of other stakeholders to capitalize and leverage differing areas of expertise, skill and resources to impact obesity in South Carolina.

Safe Kids South Carolina - Safe Kids South Carolina works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and under. Safe Kids South Carolina empowers families and communities to:

  • Educate adults and children
  • Create safe environments
  • Conduct research and
  • Advocate for effective laws that keep children safe

Palmetto Cycling Coalition - PCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to making South Carolina more bicycle friendly for everyone. PCC believes in the value and importance of bicycling for healthy lifestyles and communities across our state.

Farm to School - The South Carolina Farm to School Program is a pilot program consisting of 52 schools across the state of South Carolina. Schools are responsible for implementing the four components that define Farm to School in South Carolina. Schools will source at least two South Carolina produce items per month, promote South Carolina produce in the school cafeteria, establish or revitalize a school vegetable garden, and integrate nutrition education into the classroom curriculum.

BlueChoice Health Plan SC - Walking Works Program
This new program invites teachers to lead their classes on five-minute walks every day. Progress is recorded and students receive FREE incentive prizes!
Read more about the program and sign up here.

SC DHEC Office of Healthy Schools
The Office of Healthy Schools focuses on improving the academic achievement and health of school age children and youth, school faculty, staff and communities by providing training, technical assistance and resources for schools to become health promoting environments and improve academic success of their students. Activities of this initiative include:

  • Presentation of formal awards to schools that achieve healthy school status.
  • Facilitation, coordination and provision of training and technical assistance regarding school health.
  • Bridging the gaps between schools and health-related agencies and organizations.
  • Promotion of the use of innovative strategies to improve school nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco use prevention strategies to improve student health.

SC DHEC It's Your Health, Take Charge - The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control offers nutritional activities and lessons for PK-3rd grade students. The lessons are built to accompany a fun video! The video and printable activity sheets can be found on the It's Your Health, Take Charge website.

B2 Breathe Better School Success Stories, SC Dept. of Health and Environmental Control
Ocean Bay Middle School, Myrtle Beach
Fountain Inn Elementary School, Fountain Inn
Cross Roads Middle School, Columbia

American Diabetes Association - The American Diabetes Association offers a program to help raise awareness about diabetes amongst your students. By planning a diabetes walk, your school will receive posters, flyers and educational curriculum to complement the event. The best part is that students receive “thank you” gifts from ADA, and if the total amount raised for ADA is greater than $1000, the school will receive 10% to put towards new P.E. equipment or supplies for the school nurse.

Operation Lifesaver: Operation Lifesaver is a non-profit organization that offers free rail safety education programs. They have trained instructors all across that state that can present safety lessons to your students. You may also visit their website for teacher resources and lesson plans. Please contact your SRTS School Outreach Coordinator if you are interested in requesting an Operation Lifesaver presenter for your school.

Alliance for Healthier Generation:
ReadB4UEat! is an educational resource developed by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. This guide includes lesson plans for children in grades 5-7. The lessons provide activities in reading food labels and practicing healthy eating.

Care2Eat - are lessons to encourage lifetime healthy behaviors. Care2Eat was developed by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for grades 7-12. The lessons help students recognize why healthy food choices are relevant to them and their school environment.

Palmetto Conservation Foundation: Palmetto Conservation Foundation (PCF) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on teaching outdoor skills and enticing people to explore the Palmetto Trail and other natural areas in South Carolina. PCF has developed a wide array of outings and new educational programs in order to help people become more comfortable and familiar with the spectacular natural adventures the Palmetto State has to offer.

Upstate

The Appalachian COG is a voluntary organization of local governments in Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg Counties in Upstate South Carolina. The COG is a valuable resource local governments in the areas of public administration, planning, information systems and technology, grants, workforce development and services to the elderly population. The COG also supports public/private partnerships to encourage economic development, economic research and analysis, and small business lending programs.

Alta Planning + Design specializes in transportation, recreation, and innovation. Alta works hand-in-hand with communities to plan, design, and implement projects or systems.

Anderson County Roads and Bridges Department has assisted schools with Safe Routes to School infrastructure grant applications. The Department is currently managing the sidewalk and cross walk improvement projects at Wren Elementary and Wren Middle Schools funded through Safe Routes to School.

Catawba Regional COG is an association of South Carolina local governments in Chester, Lancaster, Union, and York counties. The COG serves as a forum for intergovernmental cooperation and as a central staffing resource for grants, land use and transportation planning, community and economic development, workforce investment, GIS mapping, information systems, and project management.

LiveWell Greenville is a partnership of dozens of public and private organizations committed to making Greenville County, South Carolina a healthier place to live, work, and play. More than 100 key partners have crafted a Community Action Plan to create policies, systems and environments in our community that make living well easier. Partners aim to make the healthy choice the easy choice in the following areas: at school, at work, around town, before and after school, at the doctor, at mealtime, and for fun.

Mary Black Foundation is an independent grantmaking organization dedicated to improve the health and wellness of the people and communities of Spartanburg County. The Mary Black Foundation defines health and wellness broadly -- as complete physical, mental and social well-being. The Foundation devotes the majority of its resources to efforts that address the underlying causes of poor health outcomes.

Partners for Active Living seeks to make Spartanburg County, South Carolina a healthy, more livable community by promoting walking, bicycling and physical activity as a part of everyday life. PAL has worked in schools and with communities groups since 2003. PAL employs three main strategies: advocating active environments, educating the community and its leadership and promoting active lifestyles. The combination of these three major programs is designed to reach all ages, races and genders within the entire Spartanburg County area.

SafeKids Upstate - Safe Kids Upstate Coalition, led by the Children's Hospital of Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center under the department of Children's Advocacy, consists of almost 100 community partners who join together to fight unintentional injuries.

SC DHEC Greenville Health Department - DHEC promotes and protects the health of the public and the environment. Their work The Health Education Unity is working in Easley to promote walkability around schools.

Upstate Forever promotes sensible growth and protecting special places in the Upstate Region. Their interest in Safe Routes to Schools falls in the Sustainable Communities area of programing. Upstate Forever works to educate policymakers, business leaders, and the public on sustainable growth. Upstate Forever supports sensible land use and infrastructure planning, adaptive reuse, revitalization of existing communities, active living initiatives, and an expansion of parks and natural areas.

Midlands

Safe Kids Sumter County - Safe Kids Sumter County distributes free bike helmets and free or discounted car seats, and checks child restraint systems in automobiles to be sure they were properly installed. In addition, the organization visits countless schools, safety fairs and other public settings, educating children and parents about a variety of issues including fire and water safety, electrical dangers, drug abuse and more.

Safe Kids Kershaw County - Safe Kids Kershaw County offers free car seat checks by appointment as well as car seat check events throughout the county.

Eat Smart Move More Richland County - The Richland County ESMM Coalition was formed in October 2010. Be on the lookout for upcoming events and health initiatives in Richland County.

Sustainable Midlands - The mission of Sustainable Midlands is to foster and advocate for sustainable, healthy communities in the Midlands of South Carolina.

Eat Smart Move More Kershaw County - This coalition shares the vision to have a community in which there are mixed use neighborhoods focused on health, wellness and sustainable living.

Carolina Children's Garden - The Carolina Children's Garden and Conservation Station offer a variety of conservation and environmental education programs for students of all ages. For example, at the Conservation Station you may gain an understanding on the importance of air quality by discussing the causes and effects of air pollution, then, using lichens as an indicator, estimate the quality of the air at the Conservation Station. Various crafts are also available.

Community Open Land Trust - Community Open Land Trust is a member-based non-profit organization dedicated to shielding natural areas from change and encouraging practical development and sensible growth for communities in the Southeast. One of their primary projects is the Lexington Greenway Alliance. The LGA program focuses on building an integrated system of pathways that will link residents to the outdoors and serve transportation and recreation needs by creating linkages to existing parks, green spaces, trails, sidewalks, bikeways, roadways, and spur trails along feeder streams, Twelve Mile and Fourteen Mile Creeks to the Saluda River Greenway and the Congaree Creek to the Three Rivers Greenway providing a comprehensive network of greenways, transportation, parks and open space.

Palmetto Youth Half Marathon - The Palmetto Youth Half Marathon is an exciting way to get kids moving! Participants run, and log, 12 miles prior to the event; and on race day they finish the last 1.1 miles as a group! All participants receive a t-shirt, a finisher’s medal and a custom race patch.

Palmetto Health’s Office of Community Health - Palmetto Health has developed a community health initiative to help provide information on healthy nutrition and physical activity. Through their Office of Community Health they offer adult walking programs, an educational program on diabetes prevention for 5th grade students and a unique educational program for parents and families to learn how to enhance their child’s activity and nutrition.

Lowcountry

Charleston Youth MarathonRun/walk with your family over the next few months and finish the last 1.2 miles of the marathon with the entire community. Sign up here for the event.

The Lean Team - The Lean Team was created as a partnership between the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Division of Adolescent Medicine, and the Charleston County School District (CCSD). Our goal is the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity through individual, family, and community change.

Ravenel Bridge Walk - Every Saturday morning at 8 AM the MUSC Lean Team invites you to come on out to the Ravenel Bridge for a 2 -5 mile walk. A great place to either begin or continue your health journey come on out and connect with community leaders, health professionals and others. Meet at East Bay Ave and Cooper Street on Charleston side of bridge. Free and open to public.

Eat Smart, Move More Charleston Tri-County - A local chapter helping to implement the state obesity plan and encouraging residents to eat healthier and exercise more.

DHEC Region 6 Public Health Division has been working with Georgetown, Williamsburg, and Horry county schools on their All Health Team tryouts.

Safe Kids Trident Area - Sign up for International Walk to School Day this year and the Walk This Way program. Then follow our "Guide to Conducting a Walk to School Day Event."

DHEC Region 8 Public Health Office promotes and protects the health of the public and the environment.

Louie's Kids - Fighting Obesity one child at a time.