The big takeaway from Thrive’s 10th annual celebration Friday night is that it is just getting started. Instead of a night commemorating milestones — and there are many — the focus was on the challenges ahead.
With a goal of making Allen County a healthier and safer place to live, Thrive has its eyes on tackling the opioid epidemic, fighting obesity, alcohol and tobacco abuse, as well as addressing poverty issues.
Knowing full well its small staff cannot address these issues single-handedly Thrive has used its expertise in driving the discussion and bringing together key players. A recent example is a Thrive-directed meeting of law enforcement, mental and public health officials and judicial representatives to discuss the abuse of opioids in Allen County. The same week, Thrive coordinated a meeting of public health nurses to discuss the importance of child immunizations and the need to get school districts and parents to comply.
Two things have helped Thrive succeed: Its focus on quality of life and its creative approach.
Thrive’s first big endeavor was the Charlie Melvin Mad Bomber Run for Your Life. Participating in the midnight run and its other activities was simply a message that it’s healthy — both physically and mentally — to get out and have fun.
Thrive’s hand in developing running and walking trails across our countryside works in the same fashion as well as the Farmer’s Markets. They are friendly, fun, and healthy activities.
Another focus of Thrive is to promote economic development in the sense that a healthy economy can better meet the needs of all its citizens. Recent efforts include turning Stub’s Market in Moran into a cooperative market so the town doesn’t lose its only grocery. In Iola, Thrive was crucial to bringing G&W Foods this way, providing locals with an alternative to Walmart.
Thrive also provides Navigators, those skilled in helping people get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. And of course that initial interview can open the door to myriad contacts for those in need of child and family services, affordable health care or legal services.
Thrive, in essence, has become the gateway to help for many in Allen County.
DID THEY SEE this coming?
Not by a long shot.
“I recall more of a fuzzy idea than a grand vision,” said Craig Neuenswander, former superintendent of USD 257 schools and on board when Thrive was being conceived, in his address at Friday night’s gala.
But “in hindsight, the success should not be surprising,” Neuenswander said, crediting Thrive’s mission and the local buy-in.
“The question was always ‘How could Allen County become healthier, more vibrant, more alive,” Neuenswander said. “In short, how could it thrive?”
Friday night was proof we’ve only scratched the surface.
— Susan Lynn
