About La Crescent Healthy Community Partnership

We are an umbrella organization for La Crescent-area non-profits.

The La Crescent Area Healthy Community Partnership was organized to address areas impacting the health, wellness and livability of the greater La Crescent area. In 2002, we received 501c3 status as a tax-exempt organization. La Crescent HCP is a United Way Partner Agency.

Vision

To be the healthiest community ‘anywhere’ where people feel useful, valued and have purpose.

Mission

To improve the health and wellness of the community by supporting projects, providing opportunities and mobilizing resources throughout the La Crescent area that will connect people and empower them to achieve health and wellness in all aspects of their lives.

Strategic Objective

Relationship building across community and organizations.

Guiding Principles

  • We believe individual health is connected to community health; that physical, emotional, spiritual, social, environmental and economic health is interconnected.

  • We believe issues of our community are multi-dimensional and need multi-dimensional solutions.

  • We believe in identifying assets and unlocking potentials by bringing people together to address area needs and possibilities.

  • We believe in leveraging activities, investments and resources from inside and outside the community to support locally defined projects.

  • We believe relationships and collaborative partnerships are critically important to everything we do.

  • We believe in mobilizing people around things they care about: “Turning Individual Passions into Community Action!”

  • We believe all people have the capacity to effect change in their lives and bring about change in their associations, organizations and communities.

  • We believe every person’s voice, regardless of age or background, needs to be honored.

  • We believe in shared leadership and shared accountability; we strive for consensus whenever possible, as well as honest, open and respectful communication.

  • We believe in seizing opportunities and breaking new ground with high quality results.

Initiatives & Accomplishments (2003-2021)

  • Sponsored community-wide health and wellness surveys

  • Managed a charity wellness challenge which promoted physical activities and raised funds for local projects

  • Managed a five year grant for Active Living from Minnesota Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • Started Grief and Alzheimer’s support groups with area churches

  • Established Girls on the Go and Boys on the Go running programs older adults

  • Developed a nutrition and fitness education program for school-age children

  • Hosted a health summit and two Town Hall meetings with the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation

  • Received grants to support community initiatives and establish Neighbors in Action

  • Became a partner agency of United Way, enabling further growth for organizations under our umbrella

  • Recipient of the Golden Apple award from the MN Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for our contribution to nutrition – 2017

  • Added the La Crescent Food Shelf to our family in 2018

  • Added the HCP home office site at 333 Main Street, La Crescent, MN

  • In 2020, we added a Statement on Racism to our website and created a fundraiser to fund and support diversity in our public and school libraries

  • Currently support eight partner programs: Neighbors Day; Neighbors in Action; The La Crescent Community Bike Shoppe; Touching Moments Animal Assisted Activities; Windy Ridge Ranch Therapeutic Riding Center; Appleseed Community Theatre; La Crescent Community Garden; and the La Crescent Food Shelf

Do you have an idea or a program that can improve the health and wellness of La Crescent?

Are you overwhelmed by all the paperwork in getting started? New and emerging non-profit programs that support our mission and vision will find it easier to get started with the help of the La Crescent Area Healthy Community Partnership (HCP). To see an HCP Agreement Form please click here