How Agencies are Promoting Health and Wellness -
What’s Happening Across the State

In the June 1, 2004 issue of P&R Wired, CPRS asked agencies to share how they are promoting health and wellness through their programs and services. Please share yours by sending an e-mail to jane@cprs.org and we will regularly promote what you are doing!

Thanks to San Leandro and Tulare for being our first “responders!”

San Leandro Recreation and Human Services:
Contact: Carolyn Knudtson, CKnudtson@ci.san-leandro.ca.us

  1. For our Summer Camps and Year-round programs we have developed the following minimum physical activity guidelines
    • For 1/2 day programs, a minimum of 45 minutes of active physical activity (broken into no less than 15 minute segments)
    • For full day programs, a minimum of 75 minutes of active physical activity (broken into no less than 15 minute segments)
    During the physical activity time that is the only thing going on.
  2. The only choices made available for snack are healthy choices. We offer fresh fruit and vegetables; nuts and dried fruit; multi grain breads, tortillas and crackers; low fat, no sugar spreads (hummus, ranch dressing, cream cheese, etc.) Processed, packaged items should contain 10 or less grams of sugar; 5 or less grams (2 or less trans fats) or less than 30% of total calories of fat per serving.
  3. Each playground site will serve water. Plenty will be made available. Each child will have water bottle with their name on it that they can keep at the site and use all day and extras will be available in case they are lost.
  4. Produced a four-hour training of the trainers on an 8 week nutrition, exercise and body image curriculum that will be given by the leaders at the sites. We also provided a two hour ACTIVE games training.
  5. Staff has been requested to bring healthy lunches if they have an all day camp. No fast food or soda permitted.
  6. UC Extension staff is teaching an hour-long weekly nutrition lesson (fun and interactive) at our Middle School all-day summer program and our child care all day summer program.
  7. A letter will be sent to all of our summer camp and care program participants letting them know what we are doing as a department to promote healthy choices and opportunities for youth.
  8. The Fall Activities Guide will reflect health and wellness on the cover and the message will talk about what we are doing as a department. We've used information out of the CPRS VIP Action Plan, "Leading to Promote Health and Wellness". The program descriptions will include the benefits of exercise and promote making healthy lifestyle choices.
  9. We will be disseminating information regarding nutrition and physical activity throughout the year through our youth, families and senior programs.
  10. Internally staff has chosen to bring in healthy snacks for our meetings and to only provide healthy snacks when we provide food for meetings. When someone brings in a cake, donuts, etc. (which has almost stopped completely), they take it to the employee lounge (which is across an outdoor plaza) and send an email that there is a treat in the lounge (which really keeps people from continually going back to the table to get more and pick at the goodies).

Click here to download a slide show presented to staff on healthy lifestyles.

Click here to download a Word document with healthy lifestyle facts presented to staff.

City of Tulare
Contact Barry Dugan, bdugan@ci.tulare.ca.us

  1. We have incorporated two health programs during our Rollin' Rec Preschool Program. As parents must attend with their children during the Rollin' Rec program, we incorporate parent education covering a variety of health issues.
  2. We have a joint effort with Blue Cross to incorporate into the preschool curriculum a healthy eating component.