This episode focuses on the great work of Healthy Together Willmar, and their mission to help create a future where all members of the Willmar, MN community have access to the resources and opportunities needed to achieve their best possible health.

In Willmar, achieving good health is met with considerable barriers, which are often experienced most by an increasingly diverse and aging population. To address some of these barriers, the Healthy Together Willmar initiative launched the Idea Fund, creating an opportunity for community members to submit ideas to affect change. 

Now in its second round of funding, more than $264,000 was awarded to community groups in Willmar to offer support and solutions related to physical, mental and behavioral health, community connections, access to dental care, the availability of culturally based childcare and more.

The Idea Fund process kicked off in the fall of 2018, with residents attending a “progressive dinner,” community meals at homes throughout Willmar, where they engaged in conversations about how to address the community’s barriers to health. From there, ideas were submitted to the Willmar Community Table, which is comprised of diverse residents who have firsthand experience facing barriers to health.

Find more information about Healthy Together Willmar and the idea fund here.