Vancouver, WA — A three-year-old partnership among Clark County Public Health, the faith-based community, local schools and other organizations has been recognized with a Promising Practice Award by the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Faith-Based Coffee was honored as a practice that demonstrates an exemplary and replicable response to a local public health need. Started in 2012 by Public Health and Trinity Lutheran Church to focus on improving conditions for children and families in central Vancouver, the program has been the conduit for a growing number of productive community partnerships. Approximately 35 people attended the first meeting. Today, meetings draw more than 80 participants representing faith communities, schools, mentoring programs, social service agencies, Public Health and other community partners. Over coffee, participants share information and determine joint strategies to address and mitigate effects of poverty, health disparities and Adverse Childhood Experiences on children and families. “Early on, we established ground rules to honor the separation of church and state,” said Anne Johnston, public health nurse with Public Health, a facilitator and educator to the group. “Then we focused on building relationships and strengthening trust between our different organizations. This groundwork has enabled us to address the needs of surrounding communities.” Due in part to Faith-Based Coffee, the number of community partnerships for Vancouver Public School’s Family Community Resource Centers has grown from 22 to 659. Last year, annual in-kind and monetary contributions totaled $3.5 million. This year, Evergreen Public Schools worked with Faith-Based Coffee to replicate the model in east Vancouver. The first meeting included more than 20 faith partners and drew more than 80 attendees, doubling the number of Faith-Based Coffee participants communitywide.