20 Jun 2016 Unity Health gives back

Unity Health recently presented four local schools with the first ever Unity Kids grants.

Grants earned by the schools through the Unity Kids program will go toward purchasing health-centered items, such as new P.E. equipment, healthy snacks and playground equipment. Participating schools for the 2015-2016 school year include: McRae Elementary, Sidney-Deener Elementary, Westside Elementary and Harding Academy.

The program, which is unique to Unity Health, allows students to serve as ambassadors for healthy living by providing them with healthy tips about nutrition, hygiene, safety, exercise and mental health. Each week, a different student is chosen to be that week’s health ambassador and share provided health tips to their class. At the end of the school year, students write health-centered essays to discuss what they learned about health throughout the year.

Forming healthy habits can be difficult, but studies show that when started at a young age, children are more likely to maintain healthy habits into adulthood. Based on this research, Unity Health launched its Unity Kids program for third-grade students in Searcy schools last fall.