UW-Extension will seek other funds to get residents moving
By Vicky Wedig
SLN staff
Walworth County might have to wait another year to apply for federal funds to get its residents moving.
The county’s University of Wisconsin Extension applied for $160,000 in Transform Wisconsin funding this year – the first year the state distributed $4.7 million in federal funds aimed at tobacco-free living, physical activity and nutrition.
In July, the state approved funding for 30 projects in 25 counties. Projects include Step It Up Rock County, Healthy People Kenosha County and Breathe Free Racine County. But the UW-Extension’s proposal, Get Moving Walworth County, was not approved for funding.
Walworth County wanted a $160,000 Active Communities grant for its project aimed at boosting residents’ physical activity by opening gyms in area schools and increasing opportunities for exercise, said Jenny Wehmeier, family living educator for the UW-Extension.
The UW-Extension launched its Get Moving program this summer with funding from Mercy Health System and the Family Resource Coalition of Walworth County. The UW worked with park and recreation departments in all 11 Walworth County communities to host organized walks, which drew 668 participants, Wehmeier said.
The Transform Wisconsin funding would have allowed Get Moving to continue this fall. The funding would have been used to staff open gyms in Walworth County schools and help school districts create plans to get people into the schools for exercise and develop nutrition and wellness programs, Wehmeier said.
Wehmeier said the UW-Extension “absolutely will apply again” when the opportunity arises. She said the UW-Extension had great support from area schools including the Delavan-Darien School District interested in opening their facilities to residents for exercise and developing additional programs.
But Tom Sieger, prevention director for University Health Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where the Transform Wisconsin program is administered, said the opportunity might not arise until 2014.
Sieger said the Walworth County UW-Extension’s application was one of 77 proposals the state received in the first round of grants. The state is counting on the funding – which comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – to carry over in 2013. But, Sieger said, the funds in the next fiscal year will be used to complete funding of the 30 projects already approved. He said the state anticipates future funding announcements but said no time has been set for applications. Sieger encourages potential applicants to watch the Transform Wisconsin website – www.transformwi.com – for announcements.
Wehmeier said the UW-Extension is looking at other funding opportunities to offer Get Moving again in the spring.
