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 Summer is here and things are heating
up for We Can! families and
community sites across the country. Our summer
e-newsletter provides you with information on community
site activities, exciting opportunities, and an update on new
and existing partners.
Save the Date for the National
We Can! Rally, October 6-7,
2006, at the NIH in Bethesda, MD. During the first full year
of We Can! we experienced many
successes and learned valuable lessons, so we are hosting a
national rally this fall to share this information. We are
inviting current and prospective community sites and partners
to gather for this exciting information-sharing and networking
event. Visit
the We Can! Web site for
registration and logistics information!
The rally
is preceded by another important event, Game On! The
Ultimate Wellness Challenge, scheduled for October 5,
2006, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services and Action for Healthy
Kids (a We Can! national partner),
along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S.
Department of Education and other leading organizations, have
teamed to conduct Game On!—an event that engages
families, students, and communities to support wellness
practices in their school districts.
We Can! wishes you a
healthful, fun-filled summer!
In just over one year, We Can!
has grown to over 95 community sites in the
United States, Canada, and the Philippines.
This
summer, many We Can! sites will
participate in
Game On! by incorporating this
educational and non-competitive challenge into their community
events. In fact, several sites piloted the challenge course
earlier this year. The Game On! challenge is one way
that school districts across the U.S. can begin to implement
the required wellness policies that are based on new
legislation that marshals the President's HealthierUS
initiative.
We
encourage you to join these communities and participate in the
Game On! events that are taking place across the
nation between August 1st and October 1st.
Visit www.ActionForHealthyKids.org
or call (800) 416-5136 to learn more about Game On!
and register today.
We Can! is pleased to make
available additional resources in Spanish that are helping
community sites reach Hispanic and Spanish-speaking audiences.
Be sure to visit the newest section to the We Can!
Web site—
Recursos
en Español—where you can access all of our resources that
are available in Spanish.
Summer is a busy time for We
Can! and we have acquired some new partners to
support our efforts. The National Latina Health
Network featured We Can! in
its newsletter and national health summit materials, and are
promoting new We Can!
Spanish-language resources;
Univision is promoting the We
Can! Web site and toll-free number during a
televised special on nutrition and physical activity during
the month of July; the Florida state team of Action
for Healthy Kids is presenting We
Can! at the Florida annual PTA meeting, and
Nestlé Waters North America Inc. is promoting
We Can! on their nationwide tour of
a new bottled water and is donating bottled water to many of
our community sites for summer events.
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Mississippi Conducts Major
Media Outreach
The North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC) in
Tupelo, MS, teamed with local CBS affiliate, WCBI, to
create 52 news segments based on We Can!
Energize Our Families lessons. Segments
have been running during Monday morning and evening
newscasts since April and will continue through
September. In addition, NMMC adapted curriculum tips on
improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, and
reducing screen time into online contests for parents
with family-friendly prizes such as water park passes
and copies of the Dance Dance Revolution videogame. This
fall, hospital health educators will implement Media
Smart Youth in local schools.
Oregon Families Dive Into
We Can!
Through a unique
collaboration in Lane County, Oregon, the city of Eugene
Parks and Recreation Services, Williamalane Parks and
Recreation, the Emerald Valley Boys and Girls Club, and
the OSU/Lane County Extension Nutrition Education
Program worked together to offer free swimming to kids
while their parents participated in We Can!
Participants received cookbooks, kitchen
tools, activity passes, and valuable new knowledge. Some
parents commented on their new behaviors: "I
delivered phone books with my son for some extra
exercise;"
"I brought one-half of a dinner
entrée home for next day's lunch;" and "I
bought 1% milk, and actually liked
it!"
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