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P a g e 12 o f 1 4
<br />Criterion 6 - Amount and Duration of Engagement
<br />Criterion 7 - Time to Complete
<br />Submission Guidance
<br />33. What percent of project
<br />materials will be purchased
<br />from sources within Orange
<br />County or North Carolina?
<br />We aim for 85 % of materials to be purchased from
<br />sources locally or within North Carolina.
<br />34. Please describe any other
<br />aspect of your project that is
<br />relevant to local economic
<br />development.
<br />We will increase our utilization of local businesses and
<br />organizations such as Cliff’s, Fifth Season, Southern
<br />States, Fitch, Piedmont Feed and Garden Center.
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<br />35. Please describe how you will
<br />engage with and/or educate
<br />project participants.
<br /> Club Nova is an accredited clubhouse and follows the evidence-based practice of the Clubhouse Model. Because the Clubhouse Model itself asks members to be engaged in every aspect of the work-ordered day, “project participants” will always, by default, be engaged and included in the education associated with and the hands-on work to realize this proposed project. Specifically, “members” is the terminology that refers to the individuals that Club Nova serves. Members voluntarily
<br />choose to attend Club Nova and during the 9-5 work-ordered day, in turn choose which units in which they will work and how they will contribute to the overall
<br />collaborations needed to run the clubhouse (enlisting their individual strengths, interests and lived experience). Existing work units that will be directly impacted by this
<br />proposal are the Culinary unit, managing the Garden and its growth, as well as the expansion of the Horticulture Unit and its emerging partnership with NCBG. Members
<br />will be working in these units.
<br />Additionally, Club Nova members and staff (collectively referred to as clubhouse colleagues) prioritize collaboration, engagement and advocacy with the broader community. Therefore, student groups from local universities, volunteer groups and other organizations will directly engage with members in this project. We view 36. How will you measure the
<br />success of that engagement or
<br />educational effort?
<br /> Club Nova has routine groups that meet throughout the week to address the planning, implementation and assess the ongoing progress/success of various clubhouse projects. Therefore, with regard to the proposed project, Club Nova holds such meetings that directly impact these efforts. Specifically, we hold a weekly Health and
<br />Wellness meeting and a weekly Garden meeting. Both of these meetings are documented thoroughly, as well as who attends them and what their participation and
<br />outcomes are. By tracking member attendance, participation and taking weekly meeting minutes, we are able to keep detailed information on the engagement of our
<br />members, as well as sustain communication to the clubhouse wide community about these topics.
<br />We also conduct annual membership satisfaction surveys to assess if the clubhouse is meeting the needs of each of our members. We plan to include measures within
<br />this survey that relate to this project. Some outcomes that we plan to measure relate to physical health, nutrition, and awareness of environmentally-sustainable practices
<br />and their effects.
<br />37. Please describe any other
<br />aspect of your project that is
<br />relevant to the amount, or
<br />quality, or length of
<br />engagement and/or education
<br />that your project will produce.
<br /> Club Nova, and other accredited clubhouses like it, follow the Clubhouse International standards which serve as guidelines to ensure quality care, community and support. There are 37 standards in total. Standard #28 below is extremely relevant to this project:
<br />“28. The Clubhouse provides assistance, activities and opportunities designed to help members develop and maintain healthy lifestyles.”
<br />Club Nova is committed to incorporating this clubhouse standard into the activities it provides for its members. We view the Climate Action Plan as a meaningful
<br />endeavor in line with this standard. Not only will the project positively impact the environment, promote waste reduction and reinforce circular economies, it will also have
<br />long-term health benefits and outcomes for our individual members. Based on current research and evidence, moving to plant-based nutrition has better outcomes for the physical health of people. There are several benefits to plant-based diets, one of which is lower incidence of chronic diseases that are common in our population (Fehér, A., Gazdecki, M., Véha, M., Szakály, M., & Szakály, Z, 2020). Our members already experience a lower life expectancy than the general population due to
<br />intersectional and systemic inequties. Individuals living with mental illness have an estimated 10-25 years reduced life expectancy than those without mental illness
<br />(Plana-Ripol O, Musliner KL, Dalsgaard S et al., 2020). This is due to the presence of comorbid physical health diagnoses such as cardiovascular, respiratory and others
<br />(Nielsen RE, Banner J, Jensen SE, 2021). These comorbid physical health conditions would be reduced with our aim to promote in the inclusion of more plants in our
<br />members diets. And due to the fact that many of our members are lower-socioeconomic status, many of them rely on getting their meals from our clubhouse as we charge only $1.50 per meal in order to promote equitable access to healthy, local, organic foods that they would not otherwise have access to.
<br />Please reference item #13 for detailed information about our partnerships as they relate to this item.
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<br />38. How much time will your
<br />project require to demonstrate
<br />the positive impacts you
<br />describe?
<br />We already see positive impacts. We expect our positive
<br />impacts to grow significantly within the next 1-2 years and
<br />those impacts will continue into the future as we sustain these
<br />actions that mitigate climate change.
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<br />Applications are to be submitted as email attachments to Orange County Sustainability Programs
<br />Manager, Amy Eckberg at aeckberg@orangecountync.gov. Please also CC the lead staff member
<br />supporting the Commission of the Environment, Wesley Poole at wpoole@orangecountync.gov.
<br />
<br />The Application Submittal Deadline for the Fiscal Year 23-24 round of the Community Climate Action
<br />Grant is Friday, August 18, 2023 at 5pm.
<br />
<br />Please note that late, handwritten, or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
<br />
<br />Submit all documents including attachments in PDF format. This will ensure the original content and
<br />formatting is preserved. Digital signatures on applications are accepted.
<br />DocuSign Envelope ID: A9B18E2F-7835-4086-B808-E21D1F44AE18
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