The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Health Education through Extension Leadership program (HEEL) recently announced the completion of a process to review HEEL grant proposals and secured the release of funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.The grants were awarded to local communities collaborating with Cooperative Extension agents to enhance county-level health programming. Category II grants for program development were awarded in amounts from $5,000 to $20,000 and Category I mini-grants were awarded in amounts from $500 to $1,000.“We had a total of 85 proposals across both categories, requesting more than $869,000 in funds,” said Bonnie Tanner, assistant director for family and consumer sciences at the UK College of Agriculture. “We had just $200,000 to award, so the process was very competitive and the reviewers had difficult choices to make in scoring all the projects.”Awards were based on the scope of the project and the resource requirements for each county. One criterion for grant applications was evidence of community partnerships to address health issues.“These HEEL grants are provided to infuse resources at the county level to help enhance the opportunity for success in health outcomes at the grassroots level,” Tanner said. “We appreciate the efforts of all who submitted proposals and regret we were not able to fund a greater number. We are hoping to be able to provide additional grant opportunities in the near future.”Category II grant recipients were: Bullitt County - $10,300 for Be Fit for Your Heart’s Sake; Clark County - $19,200 for Get Fit Clark County; Crittenden County - $9,570 for Heart Disease Awareness; Cumberland County - $16,700 for Cumberland Passport to Good Health; Floyd County - $17,558 for Colorectal Cancer Awareness; Jefferson County - $10,500 for the Get Moving Kentucky Kickoff Retreat and $16,600 for Get Moving Louisville, Kentucky and Knox County - $13,000 for Health Program Development.Other Category II recipients were: Laurel County - $15,000 for Health Program Development; Madison County - $20,000 for the Madison County Health Literacy Program; Montgomery County - $11,000 for Good Food + Exercise = Healthy Kids; Spencer County - $16,500 for Get Moving Kentucky; Todd, Butler, Livingston, Hopkins, Warren and Webster Counties - $8,325 for Clover Cat Way to Wellness.The Category I recipients were Calloway County - $1,000 for the Calloway Youth Obesity Intervention Project; Cumberland County - $1,000 for Get Moving Cumberland County; Hart County - $1,000 for Healthy Hart and Larue County - $1,000 for Colorectal Cancer Awareness and $992 for Healthy Food Choices for 4th through 6th Grades.Other Category I recipients were Leslie, Knott and Perry Counties - $1,000 for Healthy Cooking Schools; Montgomery County - $1,000 for Get Moving Montgomery County; Owsley County - $1,000 for the Owsley Health Resource Library and $1,000 for Let’s Clear the Air; Powell County - $740 for the Prostate Cancer Education program; Pulaski County - $1,000 for the Women and Heart Disease project; Rockcastle County - $1,000 for the Cardiovascular and Weight Management Quiz Board project; Rowan County - $1,000 for the Family Health Fest; Shelby County - $1,000 for Get Moving Kentucky; Taylor County - $984 for Body Recall; and Todd County - $1,000 for the 4-H Project Adventure Campaign.