#WellnessWins Empowers School Districts, Community Members to Support Strong Wellness Policies

In July 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a final rule to strengthen guidelines for school wellness policies with a compliance deadline of June 30, 2017. Nationwide, many districts are already making significant progress to update and strengthen their policies, enabling them to implement healthier nutrition, physical activity, and health and physical education practices. School wellness policies are the cornerstone of school-related health initiatives, providing both a guide and an evaluation tool for schools to benchmark their wellness progress.

To highlight these existing school wellness “wins” and to inspire other districts to take action, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Heart Association’s Voices for Healthy Kids initiative have launched a new digital campaign, #WellnessWins.

School leaders, community members and parents can visit WellnessWins.org to download resources, read success stories, and learn how they can support and advance school wellness policies.

Campaign Details:

WHAT: The #WellnessWins campaign celebrates district wellness success and inspires everyone to create healthier school environments, grounded in strong wellness policies.

WHERE: Campaign resources, including success stories, social media messages, and resources to support districts and community members in strengthening wellness policies, are available at WellnessWins.org

WHY: #WellnessWins aims to support school districts in implementing stronger wellness policies that meet the new U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines by June 30.

WHO: #WellnessWins is co-presented by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and American Heart Association’s Voices for Healthy Kids initiative.

The campaign is supported by over 20 organizations who will help to shine a spotlight on wellness wins across the country. Supporters include: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Action for Healthy Kids, Active Living Research,  Afterschool Alliance, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society-Cancer Action Network, American School Health Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest, ChildObesity 180, Food, Nutrition and Policy Consultants, FoodCorps, Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing, Healthy Eating Research, Initiative for Healthy Schools, Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools, Mission: Readiness, MomsRising, NAACP, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Farm to School Network, Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research Evaluation Network, Physical Activity Policy Research Network, Nutrition Policy Institute, Safe Routes to School National Partnership, School Meals That Rock, SHAPE America, Society for Nutrition, Education and Behavior, SPARK, and UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

#WellnessWins was also supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 1 NU1ADP003091-01, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Featured

  • Quadient Achieves 25,000 Locker Installations Worldwide

    Global automation platform Quadient recently announced that it has acquired Package Concierge, a U.S.-based parcel management solutions provider, according to a news release. The acquisition pushes Quadient over the 25,000-unit milestone of global installations.

  • Illinois Elementary School Breaks Ground on Campus Expansion

    Heather Hill Elementary School, part of Flossmoor School District 161 in Palatine, Ill., recently broke ground on a new addition to the school focused on student support and security, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers for the expansion as part of a longer-term facility planning and modernization initiative.

  • KnowBe4 Releases Report on Education Sector’s Preparedness for Cyberattacks

    Cybersecurity platform KnowBe4 recently released a new research report titled “From Primary Schools to Universities, The Global Education Sector is Unprepared for Escalating Cyber Attacks,” according to a news release.

  • College of the Desert Starts Construction on New Campus Location

    College of the Desert recently announced that it has broken ground on its new Palm Springs campus in Palm Springs, Calif., according to a news release. The multiple-building campus consists of 175,000 square feet of new construction and will cost an estimated $268 million.