Are you passionate about improving your community’s health? Well now is the time to step up. 

The Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) recently put out the call encouraging people to take part in the 2025 Building Healthy Communities Challenge. 

Applications are open to any interested community group in a town or community of less than 5,000 people with an idea for an initiative that could improve people’s health, with two of the initiatives chosen to receive seed funding.  

“Leading a healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of illness and prevents unnecessary visits to the doctor or hospital. We’re committed to working with our communities to help them take steps to improve their overall health, and build knowledge too,” according to WNSWLHD Health Promotion Coordinator Hayley Vaughan. 

The Building Healthy Communities Challenge is designed to provide more opportunities for people and communities to do that, which is particularly important in smaller areas of our district which can be geographically isolated and may have poorer health outcomes than larger towns.

“We encourage communities to apply if they have an idea which could increase physical activity or healthy eating in their community, reduce smoking and vaping rates or establishing infrastructure which promotes healthy living,” said Ms Vaughan. 

“Any idea is a good idea, big or small, and they could be as simple as implementing a regular walking group or setting up community gardens to grow healthy food. 

An Independent panel will assess the applications and two towns will be selected to compete in the competition.  

“The two chosen towns will each receive $8,000 in funding assistance and intensive support from the Health Promotion team to establish and implement their initiative, and we will also provide additional resources and assistance with promotion too,” said WNSWLHD Health Promotion Officer Kelly Cook. 

“The challenge is designed to promote longevity of initiatives. After the challenge period, an independent panel will assess the success of each initiative and crown a champion to receive additional funding support of $4,000 to help establish the idea long-term. 

“Our team will also work with the winning town to help embed the initiative long-term. It’s incredibly exciting to establish the challenge this year, and we will thoroughly evaluate its success in the hope of expanding in future years.” 

Nyngan Health Services Manager Jenny Griffiths, says the challenge is a great initiative.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for small towns like Nyngan to build healthier communities. We know that a healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of illness - access to this grant funding will give our communities a chance to positively impact our overall health and wellbeing," she said.  

Applications for the Building Healthy Communities Challenge will be open from Monday 2 September to Friday 11 October. Applications will then be reviewed, and successful towns notified before the challenge period, which will run between 4 November 2024 and 4 April 2025. 

Any person or organisation interested in taking part or seeking more information on the application guidelines or the challenge can contact the WNSWLHD Health Promotion Team on [email protected].