Grant Application for
Health Department of Northwest Michigan
Mission Statement:
Our mission is to serve our entire community and to achieve health equity by promoting well-being, preventing disease,
and protecting the environment through partnerships, innovation, and excellence in public health practice.
Fiscal agent if applicant is not tax exempt:
Tax ID Number:
30-0168590
Contact First Name:
Contact Last Name:
Danica
Howard
Address:
3434 Harbor-Petoskey Rd Harbor Springs, MI 49740
Email:
Phone Number:
231-675-8073
Website:
Project Name:
Stronger Starts: Promoting HDNW Breastfeeding Support
Project start and end dates:
August 1, 2025
April 30, 2026
Amount Requested:
$
4000
Project Description:
In recent professional lactation conversations, we have identified a barrier when it comes to the level of awareness of the support that is available within the local community. In a recent response to our Breastfeeding Support Services client survey a client stated, “More awareness for this type of support with would be ideal! This is a wonderful resource, if it weren’t for word of mouth, I don’t think I would have come into contact with Kylie (a BF Peer Counselor at HDNW.)”
Many times, we also hear “I wish I would have known about this sooner” or “I wish I would have known about you when I was struggling with breastfeeding”. While we do our best to advertise our services, we would like to do better if given the resources to do so. In partnership with the Great Start Collaborative (GSC) we would like to launch an ad campaign including billboards, business cards, sponsored ads on social media, posters for local businesses, and infographics for local healthcare provider offices.
Goal of the Project
How many people will you reach?
500
What percentage are female?
100
If your program serves both males and females, how will Hestia funds specifically target women and girls?
The majority will be female, but we hope that our ads are seen by everyone to raise awareness and encourage them to share the information. The males will be aware and be able to relay the information to the females that may not be aware of the support that is available. It will aid in normalizing an open dialogue surrounding postpartum support and contributes to a positive local cultural shift in breastfeeding attitudes and awareness- EVERYONE will know who to call. This aligns with GSC’s grant application for this grant cycle to Hestia for lactation support kits, HDNW will collaborate an informational outreach campaign to be shared with clients as a part of the kits to merge our organization’s efforts. Quantifying this could prove to be very difficult, but our intention is to reach the masses.
How are recipients identified or selected to receive services? Is financial need considered?
We do not discriminate when it comes to support- we provide unbiased care. Based on the numbers provided by the United Way the ALICE population in our area is high (See: Michigan | UnitedForALICE), so financial need is always considered but it’s not a precursor to receiving support. In accordance with our mission statement (please refer to above), women are significantly more likely to achieve their breastfeeding goals if they are supported. A new mother can be hormonally labile, recovering from surgery and/or birth, suffering from fatigue, and learning how to fit a baby into her life. When breastfeeding problems exist, women confront them every two or three hours around the clock. Difficult breastfeeding is grueling, and when support is not initiated immediately, the breastfeeding relationship can be lost within a matter of days or even hours affecting the mother, child, and family’s future for the rest of their lives.
What do you hope to achieve? What difference will this make in the lives of women and girls?
How will this project meet Hestia's mission statement?
Marketing and advertising funds are not exorbitant in a public health budget. All women and girls should receive the support they want, need, and DESERVE. We hope to eliminate the barrier created by a lack of awareness. Through this ad campaign we can support women and girls who might have otherwise slipped through the cracks. Breastmilk is the optimal first food for human infants and by raising awareness and providing support we can improve initiation and duration rates, health outcomes, and normalize breastfeeding. “Human milk is free and nutritionally adapted to the needs of infants and children worldwide, regardless of the quality of a mother’s diet or her socioeconomic status. A woman does not need to be wealthy to provide her baby with her own milk and the majority of women are able to do so. In doing so she provides superb nutritional, immunologic, developmental, psychological, social, economic, and environmental advantages. Breastmilk provides the best start in life regardless of race, education, geography or other demographic factors. It is also a healthcare equalizer, because of the uniform ability to reduce acute and chronic illness in mothers and babies, therefore diminishing the need for future healthcare services.
How will you evaluate or measure your success:
We provide a Breastfeeding Support Program survey to all program participants. Our services are client-centered and these surveys reflect not only the quality of the support but also the referral source. Women who want to breastfeed and are unsuccessful in achieving their goals can be reminded of their loss each time they give their baby formula, experience an infant illness, or see other women breastfeed. Breastfeeding can be lost in a matter of hours or days when things are not going right, yet lactation support services are not available to many mothers during the critical early days.” (https://uslca.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Containing-Health-Care-Costs-3rd-edition-7-2014.pdf)
Grant Project Budget Form
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