Fort Worth Student Winners of Wellness Grants Awarded $25K

Some kids in Fort Worth put their minds and bodies into a competition to bring #SomethingGood to their campuses.

The 2023 Wellness Innovation Grant competition challenged students to create and propose projects that would improve well-being at their schools. They then had to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of judges.

Pictures show just how much of themselves the kids from elementary, middle, and high schools in Fort Worth ISD put into winning the contest and the money to make their ideas a reality.

The judges chose six winning ideas, including a new gaga ball pit, relaxation greenhouse, school wellness ambassador program, meditation room, and even pickleball.

This year's contest offered four awards of $5,000 and two awards of $2,500 to student groups representing various grade levels and areas of the city.

Winners have to buy the supplies for the projects by June and must implement their ideas by fall 2023.

Winners of the 2023 Wellness Innovation Grant Competition:

$5,000 awards:

Applied Learning Academy: The sixth-grade class will use its Wellness Innovation Grant to renovate the school's Blue Zones Project room. Plans call for everything from fresh blue walls to yoga mats, hand weights, an indoor basketball hoop, smoothie bike, flexible seating, plants, and foam floors. The space will promote healthy choices and physical activity, especially when inclement weather prevents students from going outdoors. 

Benbrook Middle-High School: The student-led Building B Green Team plans to transform an outdoor recreation space to encourage physical activity and social connections. With the grant funding, the area will become an inviting spot that offers games such as four square and pickleball; new seating areas will create opportunities for fellowship.

M.H. Moore Elementary: The school's student council will use its grant to create the Wellness Ambassador Program - aimed at promoting healthy habits, student-to-student and school-to-community connections, and real-life learning opportunities. The students' ideas include yoga classes and a running club for peers, staff, and parents; happiness walks; well-being field trips; a letter-writing campaign to connect with neighbors; and recycling and community cleanup events. The student council will use the grant funds to equip these programs and raise awareness.

Waverly Park Elementary: Fifth graders who belong to the safety organization Tiger Patrol and the student council will use their award to revitalize the school's gaga ball pit. Gaga ball is a fast-paced game considered to be a gentler version of dodgeball. The school's gaga ball pit was constructed a decade ago and is now cracked and deteriorating; the space is also full of weeds and mud. A new gaga ball pit will feature a remade structure raised off the ground, with a sturdy surface. When students can play again, they'll have renewed opportunities for physical activity and social interaction.

$2,500 awards:

C.C. Moss Elementary: The LIT (Ladies in Training) student group is leading the creation of a mindful mediation room. The area will be designed to help students relax and regulate their emotions, with features including mindfulness stations, books, fidget toys and other manipulatives, spots for breathing exercises, and yoga mats. The space can be used by individual students, small groups, and entire classes.

Polytechnic High School: The Key Club, a student service organization, plans to create a space called Poly Grove. With the Fort Worth Botanic Garden as inspiration, Poly Grove will consist of a greenhouse space where flowers, plants, trees, and produce can be grown. Students envision comfortable seating areas, tables, and a fountain feature. They say the spot will give the student body a place to clear their minds, study, connect with friends, and relax. Poly Grove could also be used for meetings and community events.

The competition is put on by North Texas Healthy Communities - the outreach arm of Texas Health Resources that implements Blue Zones Project in Fort Worth - and underwritten by the Fort Worth-based R4 Foundation.