Cheylin schools improve accessibility to water

Pathways to a Healthy Kansas is the largest community grant program every funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. The Pathways program provides LiveWell Northwest Kansas and other coalitions across the state with the tools and resources needed to remove barriers and engage their communities in ways that enable healthy eating and tobacco-free, active living to become a way of life.

Success stories throughout the Kansas counties of Thomas, Rawlins and Cheyenne continue to surface as the Northwest Kansas Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways Initiative Collaboration initiates CHANGE. Long-lasting, community-wide well being focuses on strategies that build community engagement and transform the way residents stay healthy as they work, play and interact socially, and incorporate more opportunities to be healthy in daily routines so that a healthy culture is cultivated now and for generations to come.

Most recently, Cheylin Schools in Bird City, Kan., have created model policies to increase water consumption. They were able to utilize Pathways funding to change school policies, install water filling stations and provide educational opportunities for students and community members. In addition, each student received a new water bottle for use at school.