Clare County Community Foundation Grant Supports Youth Risk Reduction Education Program

CLARE, Mich. – The MyMichigan Health Foundation received a $18,424 grant from the Clare County Community Foundation. Awarded through the John A. and Audrey Brown Memorial Endowment Fund, funds will benefit MyMichigan’s Risk Reduction Education for Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Obesity Prevention in Youth program.

The Risk Reduction program, conducted in partnership with sixth-grade science teachers across Clare County, is led by educators from the Diabetes Center at MyMichigan Health. The six-session series focuses on essential lifestyle topics such as nutrition, physical activity, and healthy behavior choices.

“Using a USDA-developed curriculum, we deliver hands-on education to help youth understand how their daily choices impact their long-term health,” said Erin White, manager of the Diabetes Center for MyMichigan Health. “We guide students to reflect on their habits and encourage simple changes—like drinking more water, eating more fruits and vegetables, and moving more. These small steps can have a big impact over time.”

One popular lesson focuses on reading food labels. Students compare the nutritional content of a medium apple versus a packaged brownie, exploring the effects of sugar, fat, fiber and vitamins on the body. Students are encouraged to lead class discussions about how each nutrient impacts the person consuming the item. “Each session ends with tasting a healthy snack and earning rewards, which makes learning fun and memorable,” added White.

Approximately 300 students are reached annually through the Risk Reduction program, with the potential to influence entire households as students bring their new knowledge home. By equipping youth with tools for healthier living, the program aims to reduce future rates of chronic illness in the community.

Those interested in more information about MyMichigan’s Diabetes programs may visit www.mymichigan.org/diabetes

About the Clare County Community Foundation

The Clare County Community Foundation exists to cultivate the power of giving within our community, support long-term transformation and help ensure all residents thrive.

About MyMichigan Health

MyMichigan Health, a non-profit health system headquartered in Midland, Michigan, is a leader in providing award-winning, high-quality care to the 26-counties it serves. With Medical Centers in Alma, Alpena, Clare, Gladwin, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, Saginaw, Sault Ste. Marie Standish, Tawas and West Branch, MyMichigan also has affiliations with Medical Centers in St. Ignace* and Mackinac Island.* MyMichigan Health provides a full continuum of care across a wide array of settings, including urgent care centers, home health, virtual care, as well as medical offices in more than 80 specialties and subspecialties including cardiology, family medicine, hematology/oncology, neurosciences, orthopedics, pediatrics, vascular surgery, and more. MyMichigan Health demonstrates its commitment to the future of medicine by partnering with leading institutions to offer medical education programs that train medical students, physicians, nurse practitioner and physician assistant students, nursing students and other clinical experts for our region. Recognized by Forbes in 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of ‘America’s Best Employers by State,’ MyMichigan is a major employer in all of the areas it serves. In fact, its more than 13,800 employees, volunteers, health care providers and other personnel work together to create healthy communities through solutions designed to meet the ever-changing needs of the more than one million residents in the health system’s 26 counties served. In fiscal year 2023, MyMichigan Health provided more than $128 million in community benefits, as well as supported its patients and families with new equipment, services and programs with funds raised by the MyMichigan Health Foundation, MyMichigan Medical Center Saginaw Foundation, MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas Foundation, and Field Neurosciences Institute.

*Not affiliated with the University of Michigan Health System