OKLAHOMA CITY – The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) Board of Directors approved 42 TSET Healthy Incentive Grants for school districts and sites totaling $349,000 during its meeting on Thursday.
TSET Healthy Incentive Grants are awarded to schools and school districts that implement key strategies to encourage students, staff and visitors to eat better, move more and live tobacco free. Schools use these grants to fund projects and equipment that increase access to physical activity or healthy foods.
TSET also offers a similar incentive grant program for communities.
Thursday’s grant approvals mark the largest single round of awards since the program launched in 2013, with 32 grants going to individual school sites and 10 to school districts across the state. Recipients span the state, from Texas County in the Panhandle to LeFlore County in eastern Oklahoma.
“Investing in the health of Oklahoma’s students is an investment in the future of our state,” said Julie Bisbee, TSET executive director. “When schools create environments that support healthy choices, students not only benefit today but build lifelong habits that lead to better health outcomes. The TSET Healthy Incentive Grant program empowers local leaders to drive meaningful change, improving both individual and community health. These grants reflect our mission to build a healthier future for Oklahoma by preventing tobacco use and reducing obesity, two of the largest drivers of chronic disease in our state.”
Grant funding will support projects such as playgrounds, exercise and workout equipment, walking trails, water-filling stations, school gardens and cooking supplies. Grant amounts vary depending on school enrollment and the types of health-promoting strategies implemented.
School districts received grants ranging from $7,000 to $20,000, while individual school sites received between $3,000 and $15,000, in awards approved at the March board meeting.
For the list of schools and the grant amounts see HERE.
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