Tamarac, Florida
The City of Tamarac Parks and Recreation Department was committed to bringing awareness of health, nutrition, and physical activity education to the public through three years as a Hearts N’ Parks Magnet Site, and offering programming through the Kidnetic program for children and the You Can! program for seniors.
For We Can!™, Tamarac Parks and Recreation Department is working with schools, recreation centers, and summer camps to offer CATCH Kids Club, Media-Smart Youth, and the Parent Curriculum in its community.
Key Site Success
Tamarac conducted several events that attracted nearly 10,000 participants from the community. Relationships with four community partners were developed through site organizers.
The We Can! program generated media coverage in a southern Florida newspaper called the Sun-Sentinel, after being implemented in Tamarac Elementary School . These events included -
Tamarac had two articles placed in southern Florida’s Sun-Sentinel, and the site was also listed in the City of Tamarac, Florida Parks and Recreation’s “Discovery” program after the program was implemented in the elementary school.
Tamarac’s site organizers developed relationships with three community partners to help implement its program. The Broward County School Board helped recruit participants for the after-school program.
The Big Bike Riders Association assisted Tamarac with its Christmas event and distributed We Can! materials. The One Community Partnership allowed Tamarac to use its recreation center rooms helped facilitate programs with parents and supported material distribution.
We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers
Tamarac made multiple attempts to engage parents and conduct the Parent Curriculum, but never achieved enough interest to conduct a complete, 6-lesson session.
The first attempt consisted of press releases and fliers that provoked no response. Then, the program was promoted with fitness center members. It generated interest with a few parents but not enough to support a session.
The site tried again after New Year’s Day hoping to capitalize on resolutions, but again, no interest by the parents. As the site noted, “We were offering it at our community center, our main facility. We even offered on-site babysitting and watching the kids, and we still had difficulty getting parents to sign up.” No data were available for analysis.
View Program Summary Report Data for the Parent Curriculum
CATCH Kids Club
Tamarac implemented CATCH Kids Club and was able to provide parents with follow-up activities at home for the families. The parents had a lot to do with making sure the kids followed the curriculum at home with eating smart and exercising and contributing to the choices of foods for meals.
The program was implemented through the whole school year and then also at the elementary school after-school program for half the year.
One site organizer said, “I felt this program could be used for the younger kids, with some tweaking to the program. It’s good for kids to get an early start on the program and to be familiar with it by the time they get to the age level [8] the program targets.” No data were available for analysis.
View Program Summary Report Data for the CATCH Curriculum
Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active!
The City of Tamarac Parks and Recreation implemented Media-Smart Youth once at Tamarac Park . Seventeen children, including 11 girls and 6 boys, participated in the lessons.
Some of the lessons were combined to complete the program as it was becoming evident kids were dropping out by the sixth week. The kids enjoyed creating media messages but lost interest because the curriculum was more like school with the associated lectures, homework, and bookwork. No data were available for analysis.
View Program Summary Report Data for the Media Smart Youth Curriculum
City of Tamarac Parks and Recreation Department
7501 North University Drive
Tamarac, Florida 33321
Related Information
List of all We Can! community sites
We Can!™ is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.