Meet the First RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize Winners

These six communities are creating a culture of health in their backyards. They were selected from more than 160 applicants for their innovative strategies.

Apply for the 2013/14 RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize

The RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize honors outstanding community partnerships that are helping people live healthier lives.

Throughout the country, people are coming together with a shared vision, strong leadership, and commitment to making needed and lasting changes that are enabling individuals to live long and healthy lives. The invitation to apply for this prize is being extended to all U.S. communities working toward better health.

RWJF is now accepting applications for the 2013-14 Prize. Up to six RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize winning communities will be honored in 2014 and each will receive a no-strings-attached $25,000 cash prize.

Applications are due May 23, 2013, at 3 p.m. ET.

Apply today.

Apply for the RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize. Winning communities’ success stories will be celebrated and shared broadly, possibly including live local and national celebratory events, meetings and conferences, Web and online platforms, and video, social, broadcast and print media—all with the goal of raising awareness and inspiring locally-driven change across the country.

improving community health

County Health Rankings & Roadmaps

The RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize was launched to further the work of the County Healthy Rankings & Roadmaps program, which aims to educate the public and policy-makers on the multiple factors that influence community health—such as education, economic conditions, and the physical environment—and to provide solutions that will improve community health.

Read more about the program

Prize Finalists

The following communities were finalists for the 2012-2013 prize:

  • Indianola, Mississippi
  • Lucas County, Ohio
  • Richmond, California
  • Scott County, Indiana
  • Somerville, Massachusetts

2013-14 Key Prize Dates

May 23, 2013 (3 p.m. ET)
Applications due.

First Quarter 2014
Winners notified.

June 2014
Winners Celebration Event.

Read more about the Prize

2012-2013 RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize

Winners of the inaugural RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize were honored on February 20, 2013, at an event held at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. Prize winners were chosen for their innovative strategies to improve community health. Learn about their road to health as you complete your community's application for the 2013-2014 prize.

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Six Communities on the Road to Health

Winners of the inaugural RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize included large urban settings and small rural ones; places with tremendous resources and places with few resources to draw from; places with relatively good health and in places with poor health. Meet these diverse communities to discover their innovative ideas on creating healthier places to live. Could your community be next on the road to a health?

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Improving Health Equity

Cambridge—best known for its world-renowned universities—is improving health equity by addressing public health challenges like obesity and school readiness.

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Fall River, Massachusetts: Cross-Sector Partnerships

Fall River is tackling pressing health problems through a public, private, and non-profit partnership.

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Manistique, Michigan: Encouraging Healthy Choices

The small rural town of Manistique, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is empowering everyone to play a role in the community’s health by enabling residents to make healthier choices.

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Minneapolis, Minnesota: More Than 40 Community Organizations, Working Together

In Minneapolis, community organizations are joining forces on initiatives that promote healthy living and help create job opportunities for high-risk youths.

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New Orleans, Louisiana: Prevention-Based Change

A cross-sector partnership in New Orleans is making public health and prevention a major component of the ongoing recovery effort.

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Santa Cruz County, California: A Focus on Youth

Santa Cruz County is investing in the health of its young people by expanding insurance coverage, creating an ordinance around healthy restaurant options, and curbing youth drinking.

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