Vancouver, WA — Kaiser Permanente recently awarded Clark County Public Health a $250,000 grant to support active living projects, policies and environmental changes along the west end of the Fourth Plain corridor. The three-year grant was awarded in November and community-level work begins Feb. 1. The city of Vancouver, Bike Clark County and Vancouver Public Schools are key partners in the project, entitled Fourth Plain Forward: Improving Central Vancouver’s Health through Active Living. The grant includes planning support for Vancouver’s efforts to develop safe, accessible, multi-modal transportation options in the corridor. A Bike to Leadership program will promote youth leadership and workforce development and provide bikes, helmets and safety training for kids who live in the area. Neighborhood groups, schools and faith communities will collaborate to implement activity programs, street murals and other initiatives. “This project builds on past successes and adds forward movement to programs already underway,” said Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and Public Health director. “Kaiser Permanente is a valued partner, and we sincerely appreciate its support for public health efforts to increase healthy eating and active living in Clark County.” Sandra Towne, long range planning manager for Vancouver, said the grant will enable the city to plan infrastructure necessary to make the Fourth Plain corridor a place where people feel safe and motivated to get outside to get moving. “It’s an opportunity to move ‘Fourth Plain Forward’ in a big way,” she said. About Kaiser Permanente One of America’s leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans, Kaiser Permanente currently serves more than 10 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia, including more than 520,000 medical and 240,000 dental members in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Kaiser Permanente Northwest improves the health of individuals and communities by connecting low-income people to health care, educating children and families about healthy eating and active living, creating and sharing groundbreaking research, strengthening health safety nets, and supporting their employees’ community engagement. In 2014, financial contributions to improve the health of Northwest communities totaled more than $120 million. For more information, go to www.kp.org/share.