BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Awards Catalyst Grants to 5 South Carolina Organizations

The following organizations were selected to receive Catalyst Grants during the summer 2019 cycle. The Foundation is excited to learn ways we can spur innovation and challenge the status quo to improve the health of South Carolinians from these partnerships as well as future Catalyst Grants. 

The intent of these grants is to allow health-oriented organizations to think creatively and spark new ways to address the health needs of individuals, local communities or across the state. These projects will gather information to help answer why barriers to health persist or pilot new solutions to address those challenges.

Healthy Learners – This project will allow for a mass health screening of children (K-12) in Dillon county, including vision, dental, asthma and hearing. Data from this pilot will be used to determine how many children have unmet healthcare needs that would not be identified without this screening approach.

American Heart Association Mid-Atlantic Region – This project will interview food stamp recipients in rural communities to understand food shopping behaviors and their utilization of dollar stores and other non-traditional food outlets.

Mental Illness Recovery Center, Inc. – This project will pilot providing outreach, behavioral health screenings and connection to treatment for youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness at Richland Northeast High School who are not geographically close to the downtown Youth Drop-In Center.

United Way Association of South Carolina, Inc. – This project supports the SC Counts Collaborative, which is a collective effort to increase the number of “Hard-to-Count” individuals participating in the 2020 census with the aim of increasing the accuracy of information used for federal funding allocations and public health research.

United Way of the Piedmont – This project will equip six local nonprofit organizations with tools and techniques to introduce, implement and evaluate a new approach to working with clients using behavioral change techniques in order to shift from rewarding ‘crisis’ behavior to rewarding choices that can help clients progress to better stability for their families.