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I’m pleased to announce that as of Feb. 1, we have a new organizational affiliation, Third Sector New England (TSNE). TSNE is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) that provides resources, best practices and field-building support to non-profit organizations and leaders across the country.

Established 12 years ago as a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Active Living By Design (ALBD) was part of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health (UNC). With continued investment from RWJF and other funders, we’ve supported community-led change by working in over 30 states with more than 160 local partnerships, dozens of national collaborators and many philanthropic organizations to help build a culture of active living and healthy eating.

UNC was a great place to launch and grow our organization, and it has provided many opportunities for collaboration since our inception. Looking forward, we believe that being part of TSNE will position us to pursue new partnerships, expand our consulting model and engage in more promotion of healthy communities.

We’re also happy to announce that ALBD has been awarded a three-year grant from RWJF to continue our work to help reverse the childhood obesity epidemic and build a culture of health across the country. Through this grant, ALBD will work with partners to disseminate results and build upon lessons learned from our flagship initiative, Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities (HKHC). HKHC, a national RWJF program, funded 49 communities across the United States, enabling them to implement policies, environmental changes and practices that help children and families eat healthier and be more active.

In addition, with this new funding, ALBD will support comprehensive, long-term community change efforts, with a specific focus on improving equitable, active living and healthy eating policies and environments. We’ll collaborate with coalitions, leaders and organizations along with local, regional and state funders interested in building or enhancing their capacity to engage in this important work.

We are grateful for RWJF’s continued investment in growing and supporting leadership around healthy communities, and we look forward to working with new and existing partnerships, engaging in more promotion around active living and healthy eating, and supporting the momentum for lasting change in this field.

On behalf of all of us at ALBD, I’d like to thank you for your continued support and engagement as we embark on this year of exciting change.