Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County

What We Do
HCC effects change by engaging service providers and leaders from the
community in its council and committees, strategic planning activities,
collaborative projects and educational forums. HCC participants are the
people who directly work with children, youth and families through
service delivery, policy development and personal relationships.

HCC's specific work includes:

Engaging Youth in Leadership
HCC's Youth Engagement Team trains youth to serve as members of nonprofit boards of directors and trains adult board members to work with youth as equal partners in decisionmaking processes.

Fort Collins Communities Empowering Youth Collaborative
HCC is partnering with the CORE Center, Colorado State University (CSU) Extension 4-H, CSU Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement, Vineyard Church and the Asset Based Community Development Institute to reduce juvenile violence, gang activity, and child abuse and neglect. The initiative focuses on four target neighborhoods that are located along the north College Avenue Corridor in Fort Collins.

Children and Youth Snapshot
HCC's Research and Evaluation Committee is working to produce a snapshot of the State of Children and Youth in Larimer County Communities. It will provide the community with statistics about how Larimer County's kids are doing in a variety of areas. The indicators will include the categories of: safe places and constructive use of time; a healthy start and development; caring adults; effective education and marketable skills; and opportunities for community service. The first snapshot is expected to be released in fall 2008.

Family Summit—Day for Kids
In collaboration with the Larimer County Department of Human Services, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, Safe Kids Larimer County, United Way 2-1-1, Foster & Adoptive Families of Larimer County and BASE Camp, Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County is hosting and Realities for Children is proudly sponsoring the 3rd Annual Family Summit – Day for Kids on Saturday, September 13, 2008, at The Ranch (Larimer County Fairgrounds). The Summit will give families fun, quality time together, while they learn about the resources available to them in our community. We also hope they take away new knowledge about how to make choices that promote health and well-being. Additionally, the Summit will serve as the venue for the Mayor’s of Fort Collins and Loveland to present their Top Teen Awards to 10 teenagers who have overcome significant challenges to achieve success and serve as positive role models for others.

Caring & Sharing
Caring & Sharing was established in 1991 as a way for family and youth service providers to network and share information about their programs, brainstorm solutions for challenging situations and discuss emerging issues. HCC convenes and facilitates the meetings which include an informational presentation or panel or round-table discussion and a time for discussion. One of the goals of C&S is to increase collaboration among participants and reduce the duplication of services. Another goal is to provide participants with more tools and resources to serve their clients.

Parent Education Network
The Parent Education Network (PEN) is a collaboration of community members and organizations that develop and offer parent education to all families in Larimer County. PEN's vision is that all children in Larimer County grow up in homes that value the importance of positive parenting. HCC serves as the coordinator for PEN, and convenes and facilitates PEN meetings.

Character in Youth Sports
An innovative initiative that promotes, recognizes and rewards character excellence among sports participants, teams and organizations that consistently encourage and display sportsmanship, teamwork and community is underway in Fort Collins. Character in Athletics - Make it a Priority or "CHAMP" was developed by a task force commissioned by Colorado State University, the City of Fort Collins and Poudre School District after an opinion poll revealed that local parents and coaches think more can be done to ensure sports programs continue to provide positive role models. HCC conducted the poll in 2005 with assistance from the Colorado State University Research and Development Center. (Read the report online or download it from here.) HCC and Character Fort Collins partnered in bringing the task force together and facilitating their work. HCC remains active on the CHAMP commission.