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StopWaste Partnership Signs on as Latest Healthy City Initiative Partner

Special to The Emeryville Connection
January 2008

The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce’s Healthy City Initiative Program (“HCI”) recently added a valuable new member. The StopWaste Partnership officially joined the HCI in December.

“We’re delighted with this new addition to our Healthy City Initiative,” said Jason Crouch of All Emeryville Properties and Chairman of the Board of the Chamber. “The StopWaste Partnership” is a credible program which provides valuable environmental services to business, residents and governments. It’s a perfect fit for our HCI Program.” The StopWaste Partnership joins the America Red Cross’s Prepare Bay Area Program and On the Spot Massage at Work as Healthy City Initiative Partners.

Rachel Balsley is the StopWaste Partnership contact. You can reach Rachel at 510-891-6500, or rbalsley@stopwaste.org. Be sure to visit the StopWaste Partnership’s excellent website at www.stopwastepartnership.org.

Chamber Board Endorses, Expands Healthy City Initiative Program. The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted to endorse and expand its Healthy City Initiative Program at the Chamber’s Board Planning meeting last November.

The Board of Directors voted to add a sixth element, Artistic and Cultural Health – Retaining and enhancing Emeryville’s role as a center for the arts. This element will include: stronger support for the Annual Exhibition of the Arts, held each October; support for Art IS Education Month, in March; and working to help promote a permanent location with the City of Emeryville to host artistic and cultural events and performances.

“By uniting as a community, we can continue to make Emeryville a better place to live, work, go to school and do business,” said Jason Crouch of All Emeryville Properties and Chairman of the Board of the Chamber. “The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce is proud to take the lead in the creation and implementation of the Healthy City Initiative. We feel our Healthy City Initiative is the perfect platform to make our City and our region the best and the healthiest it can possibly be.”

The original five HCI elements were:

1. Educational Health – Strong schools and lifelong learning. This element will include: A new program, “BALL” (Books and Life Long Literacy), to provide books and encourage literacy in the Emery Schools; helping Emery achieve its 90/90/90 Target goals; and stronger linkages to local higher education institutions, including U.C. Berkeley, Cal State – East Bay; Berkeley City College, and Ex’pression College for Digital Arts.

2. Environmental Health – Creating Green businesses and a Green community. This element will include: Encouraging use of clean technologies; expanded use of solar and other renewable energy resources; establishing Citywide Bay Area Green Business Program Goals; increased recycling rates; expanded transit options; adoption and promotion of green building construction standards; and continued promotion of the Bay Area Green Business Program.

3. Wellness and Physical Health, including promotion of recreation and exercise; nutrition and healthy eating; substance abuse education, wellness at work programs, ergonomics and stress reduction.

4. Economic Health – A vibrant local economy and balanced economic growth, including economic expansion, a diversified economic base, attracting and retaining clean and sustainable businesses and technologies of the future, an expanded hospitality industry, and increased job opportunities for qualified Emeryville residents.

5. Civic Health – Citizen participation, voting, and disaster preparedness. This element will include: increased voter registration and participation; Citywide disaster preparedness; enhanced community communications/connections/e-communications; Leadership East Bay Program; and support for the Emeryville Center for Community Life.

The Chamber will work to launch a separate Health City Initiative website by 2009.