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Where you live shouldn’t determine how well or how long you live, but it does. About 80 percent of a person’s health is determined by factors other than access and quality of clinical care.

Through its Social Impact Fund, the É«ÖÐÉ« invests in local entrepreneurs, small businesses and organizations that are breaking down the social and economic barriers to healthy lives.

The first investments, announced in May 2019, will scale and expand programs run by organizations in Flint, Michigan, and Boston. These organizations address issues of social cohesion, housing and food access.

The programs

In Boston:

• , a nonprofit social enterprise focused on social cohesion and early childhood development and education
• , a nonprofit social enterprise focused on social cohesion
• , a nonprofit social enterprise focused on housing
• , a nonprofit social enterprise focused on food access and food insecurity
• , a for-profit social enterprise focused on access to health care

In Flint:

• , a nonprofit social enterprise focused on social cohesion, employment and income
• , a nonprofit social enterprise focused on social cohesion, employment, income and environment
• , a nonprofit social enterprise focused on food access and food insecurity

In Chicago:

• a social enterprise social enterprise focused on food access and food insecurity
• Sweet Potato Patch uses smart technology and GPS tracking systems to deliver healthy food options to people living in urban food deserts 
•   social enterprise addressing health care.

This is just the start

The Social Impact Fund was established through the generosity of Stevie and David Spina in 2018. The fund will continue to invest in efforts to help communities develop sustainable solutions addressing social determinants of health, which include environmental and social conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. Expensive or unsafe housing, limited access to healthy foods and even stressful relationships can make a major difference in cardiovascular health, life expectancy and quality of life.

Learn more

Learn more about the Social Impact Fund and how the É«ÖÐÉ« is working towards breaking down social and economic barriers to healthy lives.