Recently, the City of Danville was awarded the prestigious 2020 All-America City designation by the National Civic League (NCL)! Annually, the award recognizes communities that leverage civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness and innovation to successfully address local issues. This year the award spotlighted and celebrated examples of civic engagement practices that advance health and well-being in communities, particularly for those experiencing poor health outcomes.

“This award confirms our commitment to reimagining the community in which we live. We are a city that acknowledges our challenges. We embrace those challenges by forming partnerships to bring about change. Together, we learn from others, build frameworks and plant seeds.” – Mayor Alonzo Jones

Danville’s application for the All-America City Award highlighted three local health equity efforts:

1. Fit Mobile Program
   • Fit Mobile operates under Danville Parks and Recreation, offering on-site fitness and nutrition classes in six city neighborhoods. The program continues to reduce the barriers, such as finances and transportation, that can limit participation in wellness activities.
2. Danville Youth Health Equity Leadership Institute (YHELI)
   • The YHELI program seeks to empower students to graduate high school on time and plan for the future. Many studies cite education as one of the strongest predictors of health: the more schooling people have the better their health will be over time. Through health promotion education and leadership skills training, the YHELI program positively changes the lives of student participants, their peers, families and community.
3. Community Health Worker Initiative (CHWI)
   • The CHWI strives to improve residents’ access to health care and social services. Danville’s economic transformation remains multi-faceted, but fostering and sustaining a healthy workforce and community continue to be of the highest priority.

Tackling health equity can’t be done, successfully, alone! In Danville, it’s the work of many partners, including:

• Danville Parks and Recreation
• Danville Regional Foundation (DRF)
• The Health Collaborative
• Institute for Advanced Learning and Research
• Virginia Department of Health
• Averett University
• Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (DRHA)
• Virginia Cooperative Extension

Check out the exciting moment when Danville was named an All-America City by viewing this video! You can also learn more about the All-America City recognition here.

Lead Image: Danville Register & Bee