We love hearing stories like this.
-Cheryl
When it comes to managing your health, knowledge is power. Yet, in many neighborhoods, people don’t have access to the basic healthcare services they need to take control of their health. That’s why, in New York City, JBT (Just Been Tested) Foundation, Inc. is driving change in at-risk urban communities, underserved neighborhoods and college campuses by providing health screenings and health education through mobile units—free of charge. “The outreach program that JBT has on a weekly basis is a means to develop a system to keep people engaged in their health,” explained Alonzo Davis. This year, they’re aiming to test more than 750 people for HIV, pre-diabetes and hypertension, providing them with information, education and referral services essential to improving their health and stopping the spread of infection.
Technology plays a huge role in the important work of the JBT Foundation, from the mobile screening units that travel around the city to its use of social media to spread the word about being in the neighborhood. JBT Foundation is even looking for ways to gamify and incentivize preventative health, eventually hoping to give discounts and rewards to people who get screened on a regular basis and participate in their educational and nutritional programs.
Funded largely by grants and individual donations, JBT Foundation was recently selected to receive a 4imprint one by one® grant. With that grant, they ordered the Hanes® Tagless T-shirt in white and colors which they are using to market their brand and communicate their unique services. “We try to do a lot of social events, so we can redefine health testing from ‘positive and negative’ to ‘aware and unaware.’”
The Brooklyn-based organization is on the leading edge of providing mobile healthcare services, and organizers have an eye toward the future. Knowing there are underserved populations all over the country, JBT Foundation is working hard to develop a healthcare services program that will be scalable to other states. “We have to make these services more accessible to the people who need them,” Davis explains. “In locations where there are good quality services, there isn’t always free service for people. We try to level that playing field.”
Read more one by one recipient stories on Cheryl’s blog. To apply for a one by one grant, visit our website at onebyone.4imprint.com and click the Application tab.