Last week, the City of Spokane received a $200,000 “Healthy and Sustainable Communities” grant to support and expand The ZONE Spokane’s Youth Wellness Zone (YWZ), a youth-led initiative launched in 2024-25 with an elective wellness class at On Track Academy.
“This award will fund staffing on our campus to continue our wellness program; provide resources for guest speakers, supplies, and field trips; and fund the implementation of youth strategies projects on our campus,” said OTA Principal Chris Burke.
“Our young people face very real challenges, but time and again, they have demonstrated that they are leaders with insight, resilience, and solutions of their own,” said Mayor Lisa Brown, who accepted the award at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Washington D.C. on Thursday (photo, right).
"We want to break down barriers so youth mental health and wellness strategies can be fully realized here in Spokane, and this grant will help us do exactly that,” said Jene Ray, Executive Director of the Northeast Community Center and the ZONE. “I’m grateful to the many partners who supported this application and to the students whose voices and leadership will truly make this work possible.”
Watch the U.S. Conference of Mayors' grant awardee video on the Youth Wellness Zone: