Chicagoland Vaccine Partnership Awards $1 Million to Community Designed Vaccination Efforts
Media contact: Anand Balasubrahmanyan – 651.285.6203
Chicago, I.L. – September 13, 2021 –– With COVID cases rising across Chicagoland, it’s more important than ever to make sure that communities of color have access to the COVID vaccine. That’s why the Chicagoland Vaccine Partnership and Health First Collaborative are providing $1,000,000 in grants to community organizations who can get the people they work with everyday vaccinated.
These grants provide flexible funding to organizations that have deep trust in their communities, but are not usually associated with public health. Grantees include food pantries, churches, youth boxing programs, and violence prevention organizations. This round of grants builds on over $553,000 given to community groups for vaccine outreach earlier this year.
“GAP Community Center will use grant funds to hire an event coordinator and put on twelve vaccination events in Austin and Belmont Cragin,” said Angelina Zayas, CEO of Gap Community Center. “These grants are flexible, meaning we can use what we know from hosting food pantries to get people vaccinated.”
To date, less than half of Chicago’s Black and Latinx communities have been vaccinated. These numbers get even more stark when comparing vaccination rates for young people. To combat this disparity, specific grants were created for organizations that serve students and educators.
“These new community mobilization grants re-imagine what public health outreach can look like,” said Rachel Reichlin, RN, Senior Program Officer at Michael Reese Health Trust and project lead of the Health First Collaborative, which incubates the Chicagoland Vaccine Partnership. “Our grants empower local leaders to use their knowledge of how their communities work to increase vaccination rates.”
Community mobilization grants were provided to 60 organizations who work across 43 neighborhoods in Chicago and suburban Cook County.
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About the Chicagoland Vaccine Partnership
The Chicagoland Vaccine Partnership is a collaboration of more than 170 organizations dedicated to building a healthier, more resilient Chicagoland. This coalition works to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, educate about vaccine safety, and mobilize community members to lead transformative public health efforts. The Chicagoland Vaccine Partnership is a project of the Health First Collaborative, an incubation effort of the Michael Reese Health Trust that invests in community-led innovations addressing the root causes of racial health inequity. The Chicagoland Vaccine Partnership is staffed by Partners In Health.
About the Health First Collaborative
Incubated by the Michael Reese Health Trust, the Health First Collaborative (HFC) is redefining healthcare so Black, Latinx, uninsured and other disinvested communities in Chicagoland can reach and maintain healthy lives. Catalyzed by a response to the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racism, the Health First Collaborative is investing in community-led hubs of health transformation to address the root causes of racial health inequities and improve the physical, mental and social well-being of all individuals and families in the region.
About the Michael Reese Health Trust
Michael Reese incubates, strengthens and advocates for health solutions to ensure all Chicagoans can live healthy lives. We partner with organizations across Chicago by providing grant funding and advisory support to advance their work through our Incubation, Grantmaking and Advocacy programs. We carry on the values of the Michael Reese Hospital to provide quality, compassionate and accessible health solutions to Chicago. Learn more at wearemichaelreese.org
About United Way of Metro Chicago
United Way of Metro Chicago brings together businesses, government, nonprofits, and community leaders to deliver funding, resources, and expertise to nonprofit organizations across greater Chicago. We are working alongside our partners at the neighborhood level to tackle the systemic issues that have plagued our region, creating communities where children and families can thrive. United, we’re building stronger neighborhoods for a stronger Chicago region.