Got an idea for improving community health? It could be worth $10,000.

Published November 20, 2019 by Sydney Lake

UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc. will award $10,000 to a small business in Hampton Roads with the best idea for improving community health and fitness.

The Maryland-based health insurance provider is accepting applications for its Community Care Award until Dec. 31. Businesses with two to 100 employees are eligible to submit project ideas. UnitedHealthcare and Old Dominion University Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship will identify the winning project and support its implementation in the community.

Small businesses in the seven core localities in Hampton Roads are eligible to enter, including Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, Chesapeake, Hampton, Virginia Beach and Suffolk. This will be the only Community Care Award program held in the region or Virginia this year.

UnitedHealthCare presented the award to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond in 2017 for a project called GrowBox, which aimed to provide fresh produce to people living in food deserts. The insurer has also presented the award in Charleston, West Virginia. This is the first year the program will be offered in Hampton Roads.

Applicants will be asked to describe the project itself, the health and wellness impact it will have on the community, the number of people who will benefit from the project and the number of volunteers needed.

Local health care experts and business leaders will evaluate the project submissions and select the top five finalists based on criteria such as community impact, creativity and feasibility. The finalists will participate in a live pitch and networking event where the winner will be selected.

The winner will be announced live during the pitch competition, which will be held in January at Old Dominion University’s Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Norfolk, although an exact date has not been announced.

“The Hampton Roads region is full of dynamic businesses and organizations accomplishing remarkable things,” UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic CEO Joe Ochipinti said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to participating in that innovation and goodwill.”