Corewell Health Lakeland Hospitals has announced a $55,000 award to the United Way of Southwest Michigan to support the Be Healthy Berrien initiative as it seeks to improve recreation opportunities and the availability of nutritious food throughout the community.
Be Healthy Berrien Director Dawn Marie Smith tells us the initiative was started in 2010 as a way for different community organizations to come together to improve health outcomes. This new grant will further those partnerships.
“So for example, we work with municipalities and the planning commission, as well as Friends of Bering County trails to improve the trail system, we work with the city of Benton Harbor and Bering County Health Department to execute the Benton Harbor Farmers Market,” Smith said.
Smith says the new support from Corewell will mean greater collaboration between those organizations heading into 2026. She notes with finite resources to support health programs in the area, it takes those collaborations to make a difference.
The award from Corewell will also support efforts to strengthen neighborhood leadership programs and to explore a year-round farm hub.
