Building Healthy Communities focuses on creating healthier school environments to support healthy eating, physical activity, mental health, and well-being of students and staff.
Childhood obesity affects children's health and their school performance. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan founded the Building Healthy Communities program in 2009 to fight childhood obesity and lead children to a healthier future. It's grown into a collaboration among organizations committed to improving the health of children by preventing chronic diseases, reducing obesity and improving mental health and well-being. The program has reached 1,379 Michigan schools and more than 587,000 students since 2009.
Read about how our program has been improving children's health for more than 16 years.
Schools can choose the Building Healthy Communities program that best suits the needs of their students and staff.
Any public, charter or private nonprofit school in Michigan is eligible regardless of their:
Please review each program description for other eligibility information.
To date, the Building Healthy Communities: Step Up for School Wellness program has reached 681 schools and more than 301,000 students. This program is available to any elementary, middle or high school.
The Building Healthy Communities: Step Up for School Wellness request for applications, also known as RFA, document and website have a detailed program description and information on how to apply for the program.
The program is no longer accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year.
To date, the program has reached 479 schools and more than 179,000 students.
The Building Healthy Communities: Elementary School Program description and website have the program details and information on how to apply for the program.
The program is designed to transform the health of entire communities by implementing the program in elementary schools throughout a geographic region, which could include Intermediate School Districts, entire districts or group of individual schools in areas where neighboring schools had previously participated in the program.
The Building Healthy Communities: Middle School Program is available to schools serving students in 5th, 6th or 7th grade. To date, the program has reached 116 schools and more than 56,000 students, mostly 6th graders.
Schools that have already participated in a Building Healthy Communities program are not eligible to apply at this time.
The Building Healthy Communities: Middle School Program request for applications, also known as RFA, document and website have a detailed program description and information on how to apply for the program.
The program is no longer accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year.
To date, the Building Healthy Communities: Step Up for School Wellness program has reached 681 schools and more than 301,000 students. This program is available to any elementary, middle or high school.
The Building Healthy Communities: Step Up for School Wellness request for applications, also known as RFA, document and website have a detailed program description and information on how to apply for the program.
The program is no longer accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year.
To date, the program has reached 479 schools and more than 179,000 students.
The Building Healthy Communities: Elementary School Program description and website have the program details and information on how to apply for the program.
The program is designed to transform the health of entire communities by implementing the program in elementary schools throughout a geographic region, which could include Intermediate School Districts, entire districts or group of individual schools in areas where neighboring schools had previously participated in the program.
The Building Healthy Communities: Middle School Program is available to schools serving students in 5th, 6th or 7th grade. To date, the program has reached 116 schools and more than 56,000 students, mostly 6th graders.
Schools that have already participated in a Building Healthy Communities program are not eligible to apply at this time.
The Building Healthy Communities: Middle School Program request for applications, also known as RFA, document and website have a detailed program description and information on how to apply for the program.
The program is no longer accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year.
Building Healthy Communities programs educate students through lessons in the classroom and gymnasium while creating an environment that makes the healthy choice the easy choice.
Building Healthy Communities has an extensive history of improving children's health in measurable ways. Most notably, the program is proven to significantly reduce obesity, reduce screen time by 19 minutes per day, and three-quarters of children now report that it's easier to pay attention in class.
The following organizations participate in the Building Healthy Communities collaboration: