Healthier Glades Celebrates Six Years of “Unlocking Our Community Strengths” through Mini Grants

January 29, 2025

Healthier Glades, a Palm Health Foundation Healthier Together initiative, proudly marked six years of empowering the Glades community through its Mini Grant Program with the recent announcement of four grant awards to recipients in Belle Glade and Canal Point, Florida. Through the Mini Grant Program, Healthier Glades invests in promising programs to promote health, wellness, and youth engagement. The initiative has awarded over $140,000 in mini grants to 52 residents and organizations fostering lasting community impact since 2019.


The four innovative grants exemplify Healthier Glades’ ability to unlock community strengths by elevating and investing in the ideas that the community believes hold the most promise to change lives and the narrative around mental health.


“The programs highlight the creativity, passion, and dedication of Glades’ community members,” said Annie Ifill, Director, Healthier Glades.

Mini grant recipients began program implementation on January 1, 2025. 


Mini Grant Recipients

Elea Dean (Canal Point, FL):


Program: Enhance community safety by providing CPR and First Aid training, equipping participants to manage emergencies until professional help arrives. The initiative fosters advocacy and a sense of responsibility, encouraging participants to share life-saving knowledge with their families and circles. Through storytelling, participants will share how the training has boosted their confidence in dealing with health crises, promoting a healthier, more prepared community.

Tabatha Wilkerson (Belle Glade, FL):


Program: A mentoring program nurturing the emotional, physical, and mental well-being of participants, especially young women. By providing essential resources and fostering a supportive environment, this project amplifies their voices and empowers them to develop confidence and resilience. Participants will also connect with external resources to ensure ongoing support, equipping them with life skills for personal and community growth.

Milton Olen (Belle Glade, FL):


Program 1: Bulsajo Taekwondo. A martial arts program promoting physical fitness, discipline, and mental resilience while addressing barriers like economic constraints through subsidized classes. By sharing stories of perseverance and cultural heritage, participants gain confidence and embrace personal growth, fostering a healthier and interconnected community.


Program 2: Senior Friendly Fitness. Tailored fitness classes designed to improve mobility, strength, and mental well-being among seniors. The program fosters advocacy by creating inclusive, age-appropriate activities and encourages storytelling among participants to build a supportive community atmosphere.

“As the mini grant projects begin, Healthier Glades continues to champion community empowerment and collaboration,” Ifill said. “Each initiative showcases the remarkable ways residents address challenges, build resilience, and create a healthier, stronger Glades community. Together, we are unlocking the strengths of our community, one grant at a time.”


For more information about Healthier Glades and its Mini Grant Program, please contact Annie Ifill at annie.glades@htpbc.org or call/text (561) 685-4829.


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About the Healthier Together Initiative
Healthier Together is a resident-led, community-driven grantmaking approach developed by Palm Health Foundation, Palm Beach County’s community foundation for health. This strategic initiative convenes residents to address a variety of social, economic, and environmental factors that affect health outcomes. Healthier Together engages residents in creating their own solutions to make positive, healthy changes in the neighborhoods where they live, work and play. To learn more, visit
healthiertogetherpbc.org.


About Palm Health Foundation 
Palm Health Foundation is Palm Beach County’s community foundation for health. With the support of donors and a focus on results, the foundation builds strong community partnerships, respects diverse opinions, advocates for its most vulnerable neighbors, and inspires innovative solutions to lead change for better health now and for generations to come. The foundation supports health equity for Palm Beach County residents of all backgrounds, heritage, education, incomes, and states of well-being. Palm Health Foundation has invested more than $93 million in Palm Beach County health since 2001. For more information about Palm Health Foundation, visit palmhealthfoundation.org or call (561) 833-6333.

November 26, 2025
The Endowment Fund provides the financial foundation for long-term strategic action.
November 21, 2025
This fall, Healthier Glades , a Palm Health Foundation Healthier Together initiative , hosted a celebration event with community and partners to honor the resident-led work accomplished over the years of the initiative’s existence. In addition to food and fellowship, attendees shared aspirations for the initiative’s future and reflected on highlights, such as: The impact of Healthier Glades’ mini grants offerings Reduction of youth violence through collaborations with the “Dads on Duty” initiative The air quality initiative spearheaded in partnership with PHF Trustee Dr. Lisa Wiese The Safety Walk – an effort to identify unsafe areas on children’s walk-to-school routes, leading to the establishment of flashing lights in critical areas Resident connection to Mental Health First Aid training , strengthening the recognition that mental health is health Palm Health Foundation is honored to be part of the work that continues to advance health in the Glades communities.
November 21, 2025
Palm Health Foundation ’s October 2025 Train the Brain community health campaign, themed “Brain Health Across the Lifespan,” offered opportunities all month long, drawing nearly 300 community members to connect with local brain health champions, access practical, science-backed information, and take meaningful steps to support brain health for themselves, their families, and their neighbors – at every age and stage of life. Train the Brain inspired local organizational collaborations from Belle Glade to Boynton Beach to offer a range of community programs to help residents of all ages recognize that taking care of the brain is just as important as taking care of the body. At “Arts on the Muck,” Glades community elders engaged in arts activities, memory boosting games, music, and movement during a football-themed afternoon. The Schoolhouse Children’s Museum joined with The Center for Child Counseling to bring the brain-boosting benefits of yoga, art making, and music to children, while their parents and caregivers learned practical, science-based tips to support brain health and emotional well-being at home.  “Collaborations such as these create partnership opportunities though which we can further strengthen our communities,” said Ljubica Ciric, Senior Director of Strategic Impact, Center for Child Counseling.
November 21, 2025
Palm Health Foundation ’s Scholarship Reception on October 28, 2025, brought together nursing and behavioral health scholars with their donors for an inspiring evening at The Center for Philanthropy in West Palm Beach, FL. Over 90 guests gathered in the center’s tropical courtyard to celebrate 62 scholarship recipients, with musical entertainment provided by orchestra students from Grace Notes Music Foundation . Together with donors, Palm Health Foundation has awarded more than $4.6 million in health professions scholarships since 2001.  Gratitude flowed throughout the evening as scholars met their scholarship donors—many for the first time—and two former recipients shared their personal stories of overcoming barriers to continue their education and become health professions leaders thanks to The Debra Coffman Howe Nursing Scholarship Fund at Palm Health Foundation. Dr. Alice Brumley spoke about how her scholarship supported her through the challenges of nursing during the pandemic. “More than financial support, it was knowing that someone believed in me, and my community was supporting me,” she said. Today, Dr. Brumley serves as Interim Director of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at FAU, leading compassionate, community-centered care for individuals and families affected by memory disorders.
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Community campaign to highlight brain health at every stage of life, aiming to boost resilience and prevent neurological issues. 
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Applicants must attend at least one workshop to be eligible for Healthier Glades 2026 mini grants. 
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With wisdom shaped by lived experience, Clovis speaks to the power of education, caregiving, and holding fast to dreams—even in the face of adversity – in this heartfelt reflection. Clovis is a shining example of resident leadership, and Palm Health Foundation is proud to partner with her in building a stronger, healthier Palm Beach County.
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Alice Brumley was a practicing nurse in 2020, when working in a hospital was a scary place to be. Receiving a scholarship from The Debra Coffman Howe Nursing Scholarship Fund at Palm Health Foundation enabled her to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) with a focus in geriatrics feeling assured and supported during a dark period. “The scholarship gave me certainty in an uncertain time,” Brumley said. “Nurses were leaving the field because of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than financial support, it was knowing that someone believed in me, and my community was supporting me.” Brumley’s scholarship support advanced her path and her expertise in geriatrics, a field dedicated to supporting individuals through a stage of life often defined by its own unique uncertainties. “I saw individuals suffering from strokes or dementia who were alone,” she said. “They were in a cycle of getting sick, returning to the hospital for long stays, and not understanding what medications they were on,” she said. “Navigating the system is so hard for us; imagine how it is for people with cognitive changes who don’t have any family close by.”