The day-and-a-half event featured prominent guests and speakers, including Rear Admiral Penelope Slade Royall, Director, HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Dr. Yvonne T. Maddox, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; and Dr. Susan B. Shurin, Deputy Director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

In addition to hearing about the HHS and NIH commitment to the We Can! program, participants attended sessions led by many experts. Topics included how to more effectively reach and engage parents, how to develop and nurture local partnerships, and how to implement curricula and outreach activities that foster strong results and help to sustain efforts.

A primary objective of the rally was to learn from the experts: the We Can! community sites and partners. Representatives from We Can! sites were featured in group sessions, panel discussions, and “commercials” that highlighted program successes.

We Can! is proud of its community advocates and partners. Each of the fourteen We Can! Intensive Community Sites were presented with an Award of Excellence signed by NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni to commemorate their hard work and dedication during the first year of the program.

The outpouring of attendees’ ideas and strategies coupled with their enthusiasm about current and future activities will assist We Can! as it moves forward. We Can! make a difference in the lives of our children!

In late October, developers of We Can! and one of the curricula -- Media Smart Youth -- spoke at the 3rd Annual Prevention Summit, hosted by the HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. In addition, speaking to an audience of over 1,000 attendees, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt identified We Can! as one of the Department’s valuable obesity-prevention programs designed to empower Americans to live healthier lives.

These site activities, as well as We Can!’s national media outreach efforts to raise awareness of the program have resulted in national and local print, national and local television and radio programs, and Web sites culminating in over 240 million media impressions.

This outreach includes the release of three matte articles that expand the We Can! editorial reach to newspapers across the country: “Larger Portion Sizes Contribute to U.S. Obesity Problem,” “Your Child’s BMI Could Signal Weight Problems,” and “Less TV, Fewer Videos Help Keep Weight In Check.” The articles are available on the We Can! Web site for We Can! community sites and corporate partners to use in their efforts to communicate program messages to their constituents.

Another new resource, the 2007 Keep the Beat Calendar, is available to help you promote heart health and healthy living all year. This beautifully illustrated wall calendar guides you through 12 months of eating well, staying active, and keeping your life in balance. Special calendar features include monthly themes, space to write down physical activity and nutrition goals, and delicious heart healthy recipes. Order a 2007 Calendar from NHLBI online. Customization and large quantity orders are available. For more information, call the NHLBI Health Information Center at (301) 592-8573.

Many Fortune 500 companies are also showing interest in We Can! More than 16 companies have already planned or completed We Can!-related activities. For example, Alltel and Delphi featured We Can! messages and materials at their corporate health fairs. Winn Dixie has a link to
We Can! on its consumer Web site under “Good Nutrition for Healthy Families” section. The October issue of Parenting magazine, with a readership of 11 million, includes a full page We Can! advertorial done in collaboration with Pepperidge Farm. In addition, Parenting distributed We Can! parent handbooks at its Fall Mall events in Bethesda, MD, St. Louis, MO, and Santa Clara, CA; more than 3,000 people attended these events.

Learn more about We Can! partners.

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