26 Aug 2017 Unity Kids program helps promote healthy lifestyles
by Hannah K. Robison
As a leader in healthcare within the region, Unity Health is proud to be a part of changing the future for children in the 501 area. Through Unity Kids, third-grade students are learning first-hand how to live health-centered, and bring their friends and families along for a lifetime of good choices and healthy habits.
Created in 2015, the Unity Kids program was designed to educate students on the importance of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. By teaching third-graders these important topics, students are able to retain the information and be leaders among their younger elementary peers. Children receive lessons on proper hygiene, eating healthy, drinking adequate amounts of water, how to enjoy being active and other topics.
Students in elementary schools in Jackson and White counties are selected by their teachers each week to wear their designated Unity Kids shirt and read a healthy tip to classmates.
Students are encouraged to take their knowledge home and share it with their parents and siblings to teach health tips, while also honing leadership skills.
At the conclusion of each school year, third-graders write personal essays about what they have learned through the program. Schools with excellent participation and feedback receive a monetary grant to use toward health-centered items, such as playground equipment, physical education tools, healthy snacks, bicycles or even play area expansion.
Currently, school districts involved in the Unity Kids program include campuses in Bradford, Newport and Searcy. The program will continue to expand each year.
Cooper Allgood, a student at Bradford Elementary School, shared, in his end-of-the-year essay, what he believes it means to live health-centered:
“In the third grade, I have learned you should always wear sunscreen because you could get sunburn or skin cancer. If you want to have healthy teeth, brush your teeth two or three times a day and go see your dentist twice a year. Don’t smoke – it can hurt your lungs. No drugs! Shower and use deodorant because you don’t want to smell bad. You should have a balanced diet. Eat fruits and vegetables, but you can have some sugar every once in a while. These are good ways to be healthy.”
Schools receiving recognition for their exemplary efforts during the 2016-17 academic year include: Bradford Elementary, Harding Academy, McRae Elementary, Newport Elementary, Sidney Deener Elementary and Westside Elementary. Students are able to see the return and reward of being active and mindful of their health and habits.
Unity Kids will be introduced into more districts for the 2017-18 school year, presenting schools with the opportunity to educate and empower their students to live health-centered. Unity Health hopes to further the program in the academic years to come by reaching school districts within each service area, including Cleburne, Independence, Jackson, Lonoke, Prairie, Van Buren, White and Woodruff counties.
By teaching invaluable health lessons at a young age, children are more likely to retain healthy habits into adolescence and adulthood. Unity Health is proud to teach Unity Kids about what it takes to be healthy and encourage them to be wellness advocates in their environment and the community.
