DOVER, DE –Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long announced today that entries are open for the 2023 Lt. Governor’s Challenge Wellness Leadership Award. This award is given annually to honor individuals and organizations throughout Delaware that contribute to the advancement of health and wellness.

The Lt. Governor’s Challenge recognizes Delawareans who have worked tirelessly to make the First State a healthier place. Past winners have gone the extra mile to provide accessible, healthy choices for their communities. The Lt. Governor’s Office is accepting nominations for this year’s challenge until May 12, 2023.

The competition evolved to focus on community health inspired by Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long’s background as a registered nurse with a Ph.D. in health policy and nursing administration from George Mason University. Lt. Gov. Hall-Long has served as a fellow for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is a Professor of Nursing and Joint Faculty of Urban Affairs at the University of Delaware.

“Since the onset of the challenge, we have seen nominees driving change among their families, neighborhoods, workplaces, communities, and schools,” said Lt. Governor Hall-Long. “The Lt. Governor’s Challenge recognizes those that have gone above and beyond their organization’s mission, or their own commitments, to encourage healthy lifestyles and elevate the well-being, productivity, and prosperity of our state. We’re looking forward to once again recognizing leaders who are working to make healthy living accessible to everyone in Delaware.”

How to participate in the 2023 Lt. Governor’s Challenge

Organizations, community groups, individuals, and institutions are invited to nominate themselves or members of their community. Whether you are nominating yourself or a group you find deserving of recognition, by sharing your nominees’ stories and outcomes you motivate them to continue to grow their initiatives while encouraging other Delawareans to examine how they can help build healthier communities.

The Lt. Governor’s Challenge seeks to recognize organizations, schools, workplaces, or individuals who are advancing the goals of a healthier Delaware in one of four areas of focus: Emotional well-being; Healthy Living; Chronic Disease Management and Prevention; and Mother and Child Health.

An important criterion for winning the Lt. Governor’s Challenge is the inclusion of data that reflects how the nominee’s program positively affected the lives of Delawareans. The competition’s review committee wants to see how nominees drove the most effective results through policy, system, and environmental (PSE) changes – strategic and deliberate ways of addressing public health issues.

Programs that follow PSE changes create an environment where healthy choices are encouraged through policy, supported by the system, and made easily available to the target community. Applicants should detail how their PSE initiatives resulted in measurable health changes among their focus population.

“The past three years have shown us that it is more important than ever to create healthy and thriving communities. The Lt. Governor’s Challenge is about honoring Delawareans who have gone the extra mile to get results, and have the data to back it up,” Hall-Long says. “We look forward to seeing the exemplary work this year’s nominees have done to build a healthier Delaware.”

Examples of successful applicants include:

  • Hope Lutheran Early Education, for a cooking class to teach children about healthy eating
  • Delaware State University Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, for developing a survey to screen for food insecurity among DSU students
  • Kuehne Company, for creating a Wellness Wednesday program for employees
  • Beebe Healthcare, for staff education on the lifelong impacts of trauma
  • The Eco Team at George S. Welch Elementary, for an education program to expand on environmental literacy and knowledge
  • The Community Education Building, for its health initiative to provide food security and access to physical and mental health services to those in need
  • Schell Brothers Homebuilders, for its employee wellness programming and facilities
  • Erika Cook of the Carl M. Freeman Companies, for programming to combat social isolation and depression for residents at Selbyville’s Bayside community

Visit ltgovernorschallenge.org for more information and full entry rules and requirements.