HEALTH
IMPROVING PEOPLE'S HEALTH
United Way’s national goals in Health include increasing by one-third the percentage of healthy youth and adults. Achieving this goal requires that more Americans have access to health coverage and to good primary care from (and even before) birth. This goal calls on us to ensure youth and adults have the resources to avoid or stop substance abuse and other risky behaviors. Start at the beginning of life, by examining how well pregnant women are doing and how healthy babies are at birth. Measure how well the community is preventing and reducing the numbers of children who are overweight.
You can create excitement in the community about these health issues through United Way Day of Action. And, at the same time, move to community impact by connecting with existing community initiatives and focusing your activities to support those populations who are most challenged to be ready to learn and succeed in life.
Kid Fitness Program
Kid Fitness™ was created to help young children learn to have fun exercising and to make more healthy choices. With exercises endorsed by the National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE), the Kid Fitness "Fun Fitness Break" Kits give teachers a flexible tool to energize and organize their students. United Way of Chattanooga worked with Kid Fitness and a myriad of local partners to expand the kits so that they also meet national learning standards. United Ways can purchase and distribute kits to schools and childcare facilities, with their logo appearing on the classroom posters and on the opening menus on the DVD's.
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Promote Insurance Options to Small Business Owners
Cover the Uninsured is a campaign to promote awareness of - and action toward - the issue of the uninsured. United Ways can partner with the campaign in a variety of ways to distribute the Guide to Health Insurance Options for Small Businesses to small business owners to help inform them about available options as they make decisions about health coverage for themselves and their employees. Cover the Uninsured is sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Click here to download material
Children's Health Insurance Campaign
Children need access to medical care in order to maintain their health. Increase awareness among eligible families about the availability and benefits of the Children's Health Insurance Program. Promotion can include securing media spots in English and other appropriate languages and delivering information door to door, at hospitals and clinics and shopping malls or other venues where families gather. Consider spreading the word at high traffic areas such as parks or events (you could create your own health fair event, as well).
Consider also forming a coalition of partners to help increase the number of enrolled children. The United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area in Charlottesville, VA, created the Success By 6® Insurance for Children Project to enroll more children in CHIP and give them a better chance of entering school healthy and ready to succeed. In just 5 years, the number of eligible children 
enrolled in this type of health insurance rose from 21% to 87%.
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"Take Your Father (Or Mother) to Play" Day
Use United Way Day of Action to launch a community effort to improve child and youth fitness and reduce childhood obesity.
Promote Insurance Options to Small Business Owners
Cover the Uninsured is a campaign to promote awareness of - and action toward - the issue of the uninsured. United Ways can partner with the campaign in a variety of ways to distribute the Guide to Health Insurance Options for Small Businesses to small business owners to help inform them about available options as they make decisions about health coverage for themselves and their employees. Cover the Uninsured is sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Community Weight-Loss Competition
Launch an effort to lower obesity rates in your community by staging a weight-loss competition. Teams of competitors can weigh in on a huge scale at the recycling center. Teams can win prizes for losing weight, for exercising consistently, for eating fewer high-fat foods, and even for having a creative team name. Offer teams a website with tools information and links to nutrition classes, fitness programs and a progress report on all the teams. Entrance fees can be donated to the school district to support nutrition and physical fitness classes. For additional information and ideas, read about United Way of Crow Wing County's Biggest Loser program.
Family Fitness Festival
Sponsor a Fitness Festival to showcase simple ways families can fit nutritious eating and physical activity into their daily lives. Activities can include lessons and demonstrations in dancing, yoga, and other sports, healthy cooking demonstrations and other activities. Sponsors can include the public health department, local hospitals, health plans, and nutrition and sports instructors. While a communitywide festival can take up to six months to plan, United Ways can stage a smaller initial event by inviting a few youth organizations and limiting sponsors and activities. United Way of Tarrant County is a major sponsor of FitFuture Kids Fest-a free, communitywide festival that showcases simple ways that families can fit nutritious eating and physical activity into their daily lives. For more information and ideas, download this FitFuture Toolkit or visit here
Other Ideas for Promoting Health
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Sponsor a health fair and offer free health screenings for seniors and children. Partner with local clinics and hospitals to provide free screenings (e.g. eye exams, dental exams, immunizations) for children and parents. Get volunteers to transport the elderly or others without reliable transportation.
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Ask the community to donate shoeboxes and fill them with hygiene products for women. Add information about self-examinations for breast cancer, or where to go for free breast cancer screenings and other health services. Shoeboxes and items can be assembled by volunteers.
