VFHY Programs

Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth

Established by the General Assembly, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth is responsible for statewide efforts to reduce and prevent youth tobacco use and childhood obesity.

The Office on Youth was awarded a three-year grant (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2021) to continue its previous nine-year history of offering tobacco prevention programs to the youth of Orange County. The Office on Youth offers the Strengthening Families Program 10-14 and the Media Detective Program for youth and families with the grant proceeds received. Currently, all program efforts have been halted due to COVID-19 restrictions but the Office on Youth looks forward to implementing VFHY tobacco-prevention programming in the near future. 

The Office on Youth was also awarded an additional three-year grant (July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2023) to begin and redirect efforts toward youth obesity prevention in Orange County. This grant funding, which is available as of July 1, 2020, will allow the Office on Youth to spear head the creation of the Orange Healthy Community Action Team, which will consist of the following organizations and agencies dedicated to creating a healthy environment for Orange County’s Youth: Darnell’s Garden Patch, Love Outreach Food Pantry, Orange County Parks and Recreation, University of Virginia Pediatrics at Orange and Virginia Cooperative Extension/4-H: Orange Office, as well as local mother Robin Monaco who will serve as a community member with a like-minded goal. The ultimate goal of the Orange HCAT is to provide more fresh produce options and interactive educational opportunities about healthy eating choices, as well as more outdoor/physical activity opportunities to Orange County youth. The Orange Healthy Community Action Team will start the conversation around youth obesity and begin to make policy and systematic changes which will pave the way toward environmental change.

The impact of the work of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth has been vast for the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. VFHY impact statistics are available here.

For more information on the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, please visit their website: www.vfhy.org.