Community Health Advancement and Mentorship Program

CHAMP is a one-year, intensive leadership development program. It is designed to enhance research and capacity-building competencies in community leaders, senior staff, directors and administrators, ultimately building their capacity to leverage existing funding and use data to implement necessary programs and improve outcomes of existing services.

The program is designed to provide participants with opportunities to:  

1. Participate in thought-provoking and interactive training activities;
2. Improve skills in grant writing, public speaking and presentations; find and apply data collected on local communities; create databases using web-based data systems; develop good surveys; ensure their programs are using techniques that work; and assess whether programs are working (evaluation);
3. Gain a broader perspective of community health issues;
4. Address problems that affect the health of the community by implementing a project selected by the participant in collaboration with their assigned faculty mentor;
5. Build capacity to partner with community or academic organizations to improve health in the community;
6. Network among community organizations in the greater Augusta region;
7. Enhance their leadership skills;
8. Become highly motivated community leaders prepared to participate in community research; and,
9. Receive recognition and prestige as leaders contributing to improve health in their communities.

Pending successful completion of training sessions and assignments, each participant’s organization will receive a grant of up to $2500 to participate in this competitive program and completion of their proposed project. The participant’s organization must have 501c3 status or a designated lead fiscal agency (health agency or non-profit) to receive reimbursement and manage the grant award.

Upon completion of the program, leaders will have increased competencies in community research that allow them to access and leverage the funding needed to build capacity in their programs and organizations. The long-term goal is to improve community research capacity to address identified community health priorities.