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Viewers will meet some of Minnesota's newest arrivals from Myanmar andCameroon, and go with them as they learn about their new community. They'llsee what a Somali-led organization in Owatonna is doing to help newcomers andlong-time residents better understand each other. The program also features adiversity coalition in Greater Minnesota working to identify common goalsacross cultures to create visible, tangible community improvements thatbenefit all its residents.
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The program explores how individuals and communities become moreinterconnected and healthier when there are strong social support networks andopportunities for people to become involved in their community and bondtogether.
"How well both immigrants and receiving communities are able to draw ontheir strengths and overcome the challenges will affect the health andvitality of the state, now and into the future," says Joan Cleary, vicepresident of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation. "Thisprogram offers strategies for individuals and organizations to reach acrosscultures and build healthier, inclusive communities."
The program will air on Minnesota Channel 17 on Saturday, October 25 at 9p.m. The DVD is available at no charge at http://www.bcbsmnfoundation.org.
"Shared Values: Health and Community" is part of Healthy Together:Creating Community with New Americans, a foundation grantmaking initiativedesigned to reduce health inequities for immigrants and improve the health andvitality of the entire community. The foundation awards grants for projectsthat foster exchanges and interactions between newcomers and the receivingcommunity, strengthen the capacity of immigrant-led organizations and theirattention to health, and address social adjustment and mental health.
"Shared Values: Health and Community" is a coproduction of the Blue Crossand Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation and Twin Cities Public Television. Formore information on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation,visit us on the Web at http://www.bcbsmnfoundation.org or call (651) 662-3950or toll free 1-866-812-1593.
The Blue Cross Foundation's purpose is to look beyond health care todayfor ideas that create healthier communities tomorrow. By addressing keysocial, economic and environmental factors that determine health -- beyondgenes, lifestyle and access to health care -- the foundation's work extendsbeyond the traditional reach of the health care system to improve communityhealth long-term and close the health gap that affects many Minnesotans. Thefoundation has become the state's largest grantmaking foundation toexclusively dedicate its assets to improving health in Minnesota, awardingmore than $22 million since it was established in 1986.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paulsuburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan andcontinues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, moreeconomical and timely availability of health services for the people ofMinnesota. A nonprofit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest healthplan based in Minnesota, covering 2.9 million members in Minnesota andnationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliatedcompanies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licenseeof the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Go tobluecrossmn.com to learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation
