The mission of the Mary Black Foundation is to improve the health and wellness of the people and communities of Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

The Mary Black Foundation defines "health and wellness" broadly - as complete physical, mental and social well being. The Foundation devotes the majority of its resources to efforts that address the underlying causes of poor health outcomes in Spartanburg County. The Foundation works to achieve its mission by concentrating its grantmaking in two priority areas:

Active Living and Early Childhood Development. In addition to its two priority areas, the Foundation also awards grants through its Community Health Fund.

Health Policy News and Information...

Foundation Releases Active Living Report

Foundation To Fund Full-Day 4K Programs in Spartanburg County School Districts 1, 3 and 7

The Mary Black Foundation announced today that it will fund four-year old kindergarten classes for 140 children considered at risk for entering school delayed, an intervention that would have been eliminated as a result of changes in Medicaid. 

To learn more, click here.

Smoke Free Counties, Cities and Towns in SC

The effects of smoking and secondhand smoke are dire on our state’s population:

• $1.09 billion is the price tag of SC’s annual healthcare costs caused by smoking

• $393 million is the amount of healthcare costs that are covered by Medicaid

• $578 is your tax burden from smoking-related government expenditures

• $1.83 billion is how much South Carolina loses each year because of lost productivity from smoking

• 7,300 SC kids become new smokers each year

Source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

 Click here to read about the 32 communities across SC who have smoke free ordinances.

Summary of New Health Reform Law from the Kaiser Family Foundation

The summary reflects provisions of the new law, and changes made by subsequent legislation, including provisions to expand coverage, control health care costs, and improve the health care delivery system.

Socioeconomic Structures, Smoking and Obesity by Richard Florida and Charlotta Mellander

This study examines the effects of post-industrial economic structures and values on smoking and obesity. It further finds that post-industrial values of openness and tolerance have a significant effect on state obesity rates, in addition to the effects of race.

Building a Global Movement for Health Equity by Dr. Michael Marmot, Chair of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health for the World Health Organization.