Hawaii Chapter Seeks Applications for 2009 Chapter Community Grants The March of Dimes Hawaii Chapter announces the availability of project funding through its Community Grants Program. The Community Grants Program is intended to provide start up or seed money to stimulate institutionalization or enhancement of a service or procedure benefiting women of childbearing age, pregnant women and infants. Based on analysis of community need and the mission of the March of Dimes with respect to Chapter activities - increasing access to/quality of health care for women and their infants and increasing the availability of prevention services - the Chapter has identified four funding priorities. Applications should address one of these four priorities – which are all related to the availability or quality of health care or prevention services for: All Women of Childbearing Age: a) Increasing risk reduction education and/or services (excluding billable services). This may include women at high-risk due to previous adverse pregnancy outcomes, chronic conditions or other risk factors in which pre/interconception or prenatal care could help prevent adverse outcomes. Pregnant Women: b) Enhancing education / support services that focus on reducing disparities in birth outcomes. This may include March of Dimes programs such as Stork's Nest® or Comenzando bien®. c) Enhancing care through the CenteringPregnancy® model of group prenatal care and/or providing training to providers who plan on utilizing CenteringPregnancy®. d) Increasing health education and information/referral services available to pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs. Applications may request funds to support a single or short-term event (such as a staff training or community awareness activity) or to develop and/or pilot test a project/program intended for long-term implementation. Preference will be given to projects that focus on reducing disparities in preterm birth, including improvements in risk-associated behaviors. Applications requesting funds to support on-going activities of currently implemented projects may not be competitive. Application Guidelines and Required Forms:
