The Louisville Urban League and Render Capital will host a press conference to announce an RWJF-funded program, A Healthier Path Forward, to promote innovations targeting system-level approaches to childhood obesity in Louisville’s West End.

Childhood obesity presents a formidable public health challenge in Louisville, Kentucky, with a disproportionately high burden observed in the city’s West End. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Louisville Urban League is partnering with Render to catalyze the implementation of community-informed solutions addressing the root causes of this health disparity using a proven innovation challenge framework.

At the Louisville Urban League, we know that challenges like these are not isolated problems; they are deeply rooted in complex structural inequities and faulty systems. We believe that the most viable and sustainable solutions must come from those with the most direct experience of these challenges. That’s why “A healthier path forward” is designed to find and fund entrepreneurs and innovators who are tackling the upstream structural barriers contributing to childhood obesity.

Community engagement is absolutely central to “A Healthier Path Forward.” We will actively engage Black-led community organizations and West End residents with lived experience throughout the entire process—starting at the very beginning as we shape the core problem statement, evaluating applicants, and selecting the final grantees. These insights are invaluable in ensuring the solutions are relevant, impactful, and address the real needs of the community–our first community meetings begin next month.

Join us to learn more as we kick off this new initiative!