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We
Can!™ is here to help you kick your year off
right with inspiring stories from community sites, new
We Can! resources, and tips to help
you stay active and healthy in the cold weather. Read on to
learn about exciting events, new partners, and tips for making
sure that the We Can! Parent Program
is working for you.
In November 2007,
We Can! held a media event at the
Boston Children’s Museum, with simultaneous events held in
eight other cities. Acting U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral
Steven K. Galson was in attendance to discuss We
Can!’s inclusion in the HHS Childhood Overweight
and Obesity Prevention Initiative. Read more.
In fall 2007,
We Can! hosted two regional
trainings that helped the movement grow: over 250 people
attended, and over 75 new sites signed up in the following
weeks. Read more.
We Can!
has been busy creating materials and resources
to better serve community sites.
Based on your feedback, we
have revised the Parent Program with two new resources. The
new We Can! Energize our Families: Parent
Program Leader’s Guide has been reduced from six
sessions to four and improved with lessons learned from our
Founding Intensive Sites’ programming. You can order the new Leader’s Guide (Item #
08-5850, $7.50/ea) from the NHLBI online catalog or download a PDF version at no charge.
We also created the new
We Can! Energize our Families: Family
Guide, which is perfect for your program participants
to use for home study in between sessions. The new Family
Guide is also available for online ordering (Item # 08-5839, $2.00/ea)
or download at no
charge.
In addition, remember to
check out the updated GO, SLOW, WHOA Foods chart, which includes
new foods based on HHS/USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans
2005; two audio news releases; and new matte release articles—prewritten
stories with graphics for use by newspapers or community
organizations to communicate program
messages.
We
Can! also launched a new networking and learning
opportunity for community sites—Power Talks. The first Power
Talk was held in December and focused on the topic, “Getting
Started with the Parent Program.” Check the We
Can! calendar to get more information about the
next scheduled Power Talk.
The We
Can! movement is growing fast! We are in nearly
550 communities across the country and around the
world.
In addition, several
cities have recently become official We
Can! Cities. Boston, Massachusetts; Las Vegas,
Nevada; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were all designated as
We Can! Cities during the November
press events. They join Armstrong County, Pennsylvania; Carson
City, Nevada; Gary, Indiana; Roswell, Georgia; and South Bend,
Indiana.
We
Can! has also expanded internationally. There
are now thirteen community sites in nine locations outside the
United States: Australia, Canada, Greece, India, the Northern
Mariana Islands, Nigeria, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and
Uganda.
We
Can! has also been reaching communities through
leading health conferences. Last September, Karen Donato,
S.M., We Can! Program Officer, and
Kathy Cunningham, the We Can!
Intensive Community Site leader from the Boston Steps program
of the Boston Public Health Commission, co-presented the
program to more than 400 dietitians at the American Dietetic
Association annual meeting.
In November, Ms.
Donato joined Marianne Glass Miller of the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development to co-present
We Can! at the American Public
Health Association annual conference.
In late fall
2007, We Can! had a booth at the
Marine Corps Marathon Fun Run for kids. The Fun Run attracted
3,000 kids, plus their parents, who visited the We
Can! exhibit area before and after the run.
Everyone enjoyed receiving We Can!
giveaways and taking Portion Distortion quizzes.
We
Can! is proud to be working with more than 30
national and corporate partners, including two new partners:
The H.J. Heinz Company, who will be
distributing We Can! resources to
employees and the community, and Delaware Physicians
Care, Inc., who distributed We
Can! resources to employees and implemented a
We Can! and CATCH! Kids Club
initiative for community members.
We
Can! is in discussion with the National
Black Nurses Association (NBNA) about partnership
opportunities. NBNA recently printed an article announcing the
partnership in its newsletter, which is distributed quarterly
to its 3,000 members.
Read more about these partners’
We Can! activities and learn how to become a We
Can! partner.
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We
Can! community sites are doing great work
improving the health of their communities and helping
the We Can! movement grow.
In Birmingham,
Alabama, the Bethel Community Learning Center hosted a
5K Fun Run and Walk, for all Birmingham citizens to get
moving and learn about healthy lifestyles. Read
more
In Boston last fall,
the Moer Foundation used We
Can! program materials to discuss the
importance of healthy eating with local parents and
children. Read
more |
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Dear We
Can! is a feature in our newsletter where
We Can! staff members answer
your questions about the We
Can! program.
Question:"We
are really interested in implementing the We
Can! Parent Program in our community. However,
once we start the Program, how will we know if it’s
working?"
Read the
answer
Do you have a
question that you would like us to answer? Please send
it to wecan@aed.org.
We may feature your
question in an upcoming newsletter.
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Do you have a copy
of the new 2008 Keep The Beat
Calendar?
This colorful wall
calendar will help you make healthy choices for your
family in the upcoming year.
Updated for 2008, it
contains new tips, facts, and recipes, and space to
write down nutritional and physical activity each month.
Order your copy
today.
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This
year, make it a resolution to think more about portion
control and reducing your family’s screen
time.
Make
sure to stay hydrated in the cold weather—drink plenty
of water.
Even
in cold weather, you can still be active outside. Enjoy
sledding or ice skating and make it a family event!
Make
sure to dress in layers when you’re staying physically
active outside in order to keep your body at a safe,
comfortable temperature. |
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