Manchester Wellness Coalition Seeks Community Input

The Manchester Wellness Coalition, a group of local volunteers working with the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation (CWF), is developing its Year 4 plan of community programs and infrastructure to improve the health and wellness of Manchester-area residents. We are looking for your input on what the community could use and should plan for in our wellness efforts.

The CWF funds interventions which will help residents of the Manchester community eat better, move more, connect with others, and avoid unhealthy substances. Over the first three years of the program, the Foundation has funded over $350,000 in direct interventions in these areas, as well as separate financing for large community resources such as the Manchester Wellness Center. Our local Wellness Coalition members work to define these needs, prepare the necessary grant applications, and work with local non-profit groups, the Village of Manchester, and Manchester Community Schools to implement and track the programs.

Each year we prepare a Comprehensive Wellness Plan for the upcoming year. The current Manchester Year 3 Plan (2014-2015) can be viewed at the home page of www.5healthytowns.org. We are now developing the Year 4 plan, and are seeking input from the community on ideas for health improvement.

Your ideas can be sent to raymondmberg@gmail.com, in writing to the Manchester Wellness Coalition at 7705 Eisman, Manchester, MI 48158, or come to our next Wellness Coalition meeting on Tuesday, January 27, 12:00 noon at Manchester Village Offices.

As a reference, the current 2014-2015 interventions include the following:

Year 3 (2014-2015) Manchester Wellness Interventions

We are looking for interventions that may apply to a certain demographics of our residents, as well as those where the Manchester Wellness Coalition might partner with a civic or non-profit organization and complement an objective of those groups. We also are looking for volunteers to join our meetings, and offer their expertise and help in developing these programs.

In January, the Wellness Coalition will be sending out an EDDM mailer to all Manchester-area households with a progress report of our three years to date, what plans we are contemplating for the next 2-3 years, and a similar request for our community’s input. Please watch for this mailer for more detailed information on our efforts and how you can help.

Finally, a major milestone in our effort will occur in the first 5-6 months of 2015. Every five years, the Washtenaw County Health Improvement Plan (HIP) conducts an extensive telephone survey of county residents, asking a broad range of questions concerning residents’ health and wellness. This year, the HIP survey is being expanded to poll a larger number of Manchester-area residents, both by landline and cell phone, and to collect a large sample of data specific to Manchester. This data, collected without your name or residence address, is critical to evaluating the long-term effectiveness of our outreach efforts. We are asking for your help – please answer this call and its survey questions! In early January, we’ll post another article in the Mirror with specific answers on what to expect, what the caller ID will show on your phone, and how the total collected responses will help us in our efforts.

Thank you on behalf of the Manchester Wellness Coalition volunteers!

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by Ray Berg