FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2019
Eastside HEAL Zone Participants Recognized by Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful for Exceptional Leadership and Volunteer Service
Riverside, CA – Participants of the Eastside HEAL Zone (EHZ), an initiative will led by Riverside Community Health Foundation (RCHF), is being honored for their work in Riverside’s Eastside community. Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful (KRCB) will recognize RCHF’s Healthy Living Project Youth Club and Griselda Martinez with the Residents of Eastside Active in Leadership (REAL) on Thursday, October 17 at the annual Community Recognition Luncheon.
The EHZ promotes a culture of health, hope, unity and leadership in Riverside’s Eastside neighborhood. The vision of the initiative is to transform the community by providing opportunities for residents to engage in healthy behaviors such as walking and biking on safe routes, buying affordable fresh fruits and vegetables close to home, and exercising in parks on a daily basis.
The EHZ team collaborates with other entities to empower adult and youth residents through leadership programs, and assists residents in making lasting changes in their community through resident-driven community improvement projects such as:
• 4 park improvements
• 4 corner stores converted into healthy markets
• 42 residents trained in community advocacy through the Riverside Leadership Academy
• Facilitated 29 community art projects
• Initiated 2 community gardens
The Healthy Living Project Youth Club, which is comprised of residents between the ages of 12-19 years old in East Riverside, will be recognized with the 2019 Good Steward for Graffiti Award for the club’s commitment and extraordinary creativity on the Twelfth Street alleyway transformation in the City of Riverside.
Ms. Martinez will be honored for her exceptional leadership with the REAL group with the prestigious 2019 Lady Bird Johnson Award, which each year, honors an outstanding woman for her exceptional leadership in litter prevention. The national award originated by Keep America Beautiful commemorates the former First Lady’s many litter prevention and beautification efforts.
“We are so proud of the work and transformations that HLP and Ms. Martinez have done in the Eastside community,” said Dr. Dan Anderson, President/CEO of RCHF. “We look forward to what their leadership and vision will bring in the years to come.”
Other award categories include: honors for exceptional leadership for individuals and groups in roadside and community beautification, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, and conservation.
Media Contact: Anna Holbrook at Anna@rchf.org or (951) 788-3471 ext. 115
