Success at a Glance

Sisters in Birth is a Jackson-based pregnancy and birth clinic committed to keeping moms and babies alive and healthy in Mississippi, a state with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the U.S. To help reduce sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and COVID-19 infections in moms and their babies, Sisters in Birth launched a new partnership in the spring of 2023 with the Mississippi Department of Child Protection and UnitedHealthcare. Thanks to the collaboration, Sisters in Birth organized...

Human services organization Pillsbury United Communities prides itself on successfully building community trust and relationships to support medically underserved populations in the Minneapolis metropolitan region. In 2022, thanks to a robust Community Health Worker program and standout individuals sharing factual information about COVID-19 and flu vaccines, immunization rates rose in three metro communities. One senior community member from the Brian Coyle Center in Cedar-Riverside shared that...

To help promote the importance of COVID-19 vaccines, New Orleans-based addiction treatment provider Odyssey House Louisiana enlisted the help of “Debbie with a D,” a local drag queen celebrity and vocal supporter of public health. “Debbie with a D,” who holds a master’s degree in public health, first gained notoriety as a trusted health advocate when she helped provide more than 10,000 HIV self-testing kits to the New Orleans’ LGBTQ+ community in the months leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic...

In the agricultural region of western Missouri, the seasonal fruit harvests create opportunities to deliver quality healthcare to rural communities. During the peach and apple picking months in the summer and fall, Lexington-based HCC Network partners with Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund (MFAF) in Kansas City to provide vaccination education and access to the seasonal farm worker community. From August to October 2023, MFAF organized regular vaccine outreach at one orchard, where HCC Network...

In supporting underserved Hispanic communities in Southern California,  Latino Health Access (LHA) has used its highly successful Vaccine Ambassador Program to help inform and empower community members. Through this program, LHA trains participants as Promotores de Salud (Health Promoters) who engage with their communities to share accurate information about COVID-19 and flu vaccines. From December 2022 to January 2024, LHA leveraged its community partnerships to train 6 different groups...

To better serve its community of indigenous elders, the International Association for Indigenous Aging (IA²) developed impactful culturally tailored health outreach programs around vaccine education.  Historically, indigenous community engagement has been rooted in the tradition of talking circles, safe discussion spaces where every participant has a chance to contribute. IA² drew on this traditional concept and adapted it for the digital realm, inviting individuals from its Facebook community...

As part of its goal to increase access to vaccinations for families throughout the state of Rhode Island, Family Service of Rhode Island (FSRI) hosted a successful vaccination event at Johnson and Wales University (JWU) in Providence on February 24, 2023.  Thanks to FSRI’s promotional efforts on campus, community turnout was strong.  JWU students, faculty and staff attending the event could receive flu, COVID-19 and/or T-dap vaccines. One student shared that she had never received a flu shot...

Community Ministry of Prince George's County (CMPGC) is a Maryland-based interfaith organization that is committed to helping reduce health and educational disparities in underserved communities. To better support its own local community just outside Washington D.C., CMPGC organized a multi-state Health Advisor training program in North Carolina, bringing together influential leaders from Prince George’s County, MD and from 20 other partner community organizations.  As a result of this training...

As part of its health outreach to support members of the LGBTQ+ community over the age of 45, Gay Elders of Detroit (dba MiGen) works to provide greater access to COVID-19 and flu vaccines. In early 2023, MiGen staff recognized that some community members were hesitant about getting a COVID-19 vaccine booster. In response, the organization created a tongue-in-cheek promotional campaign that teased summer with the tagline “The hottest bodies on the beach are vaccinated.” One of the faces of the...