The Collaborative Innovations for Community health funding is primarily supporting the Galveston County Health District’s HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Living) program. The main focus of HEAL is to prevent disease as much as possible, instilling healthy habits in children to adults, allowing them to learn and grow in health, all while having fun.

Galveston County Health District has reached out to the three biggest school districts regarding their HEAL program and plan to take part in summer camps, bring back their diabetes classes, and host their fun run come fall. The summer camps’ involvement will be curriculum-based, with pre- and post-tests for children to take, so Galveston County Health District can see the direct impact they are making through education and fun physical activity sessions.

The last HEAL fun run occurred in 2020, just before COVID-19 shut everything down. Offering a 5K and 1 mile race for anyone, at any fitness level, a health fair also took place with local vendors, giveaways, raffles, and more to encourage attendees to be healthier and have fun while learning ways to implement healthy habits. The plan is to bring back the fun run this fall on an even bigger scale.