The City of Lacombe has received a ChooseWell Healthy Community Award for Providing Healthy Education from the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA).
“I am very proud of Lacombe’s continued success as a ChooseWell Community,” said Recreation and Culture Manager Sandi Stewart. “Eating right and being active are becoming more important as society deals with the fight against chronic illnesses, and I’m honored that Lacombe is recognized as a proactive leader in the province through Communities ChooseWell.”
The City’s Community Services staff received this award for their efforts in participating in the Communities ChooseWell initiative by coordinating various programs, activities and challenges throughout the year to promote healthy eating and active living. Some of the initiatives hosted throughout 2017 include handing out sprouting kits and seeds to residents so they can learn to grow their own healthy foods; developed new partnerships with the Lacombe Food Bank and Central Alberta Woodworkers Guild to build community gardens; hosted a basic gardening workshop to educate people on gardening techniques and getting the most out of small spaces; Operation Lunch Box, getting residents packing healthy lunches, targeting school kids by running the program at the beginning of the school year; revamped the Find the Right Fit program (change-over to punch passes) to increase public participation; pool passes made available at the Mary C. Moore Public Library and facilitation of a number of free wellness sessions through the Community Wellness Services Steering Committee.
“I am glad to see that all the work we put into promoting healthy lifestyles is being recognized,” said Community Services ChooseWell Coordinator Sonya Beauclair. “Persistence is key to success. Our goal is for people to know that they are making a good choice when they see the ChooseWell logo.” - Fawcett