BAPS Charities Hosts
Children’s Health & Safety Day
Supporting US Dept. of Health’s
initiative “We Can!"
A rising epidemic in America, childhood obesity is on the
forefront of public health concerns. A recent study showed that
33 percent of American youth live inactive and unhealthy
lifestyles and are considered to be obese. More so, these youth
have a much higher chance of continuing such harmful lifestyles
into adulthood, resulting in an abundance of health issues. With
the hope of combating this vast decline in our children’s
health, BAPS Charities organized a national wide Health and
Safety Day for Children supporting US Dept of Health and Human
Services and National Institute of Health’s initiative, We Can!
(Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition). The event
aimed at giving parents, caretakers, and most importantly
children, the knowledge and strength to pave the path to a
healthier future.
On Saturday, September 15, 2012, BAPS Charities hosted its 1st
annual Children’s Health and Safety Day, at the BAPS Shri
Swaminarayan Mandir in Lilburn, Georgia, providing education
activities, hands-on workshops, and special presentations by
local professionals promoting health and safety to over 200
children.
Workshops centered on the We Can! Initiative highlighted health
education topics such as getting active, reducing television
time and learning about eating a balanced and nutritious diet.
They not only provided solid guidance on healthy living for both
children and adults, but also gave practical tips on how to
incorporate good health habits into daily living.
“The workshops were a wonderful idea to really get children to
interact with the doctors and learn about healthy living habits.
But to add on to that, they got to learn about what they could
do to increase their own safety. Through these initiatives the
children get two things, the first being they start to make the
connections and secondly, they get to not panic when there
actually is a safety situation where they could do now do
something about it.” said Les Nichols, Vice President of Club &
Child Safety of Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Various other activities that focused on hygiene, emergency
safety, and disability awareness to name a few, were also
scheduled throughout the day to help children understand more
about the importance of their health as they grow.
The BAPS Charities Children’s Health and Safety Day also
included great community support with the attendance of the
Lilburn Police Department, Gwinnett County Fire and EMS
Department, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s K-9 unit and Air Life
Georgia’s EMS Helicopter. Children had the opportunity to go
inside the emergency vehicles, including a fire truck,
helicopter, and police cars, and talk with the officers.
“Anytime you can interact with children of a younger age, and
teach them something, you should. We want to ensure their
safety, and fairs like this let us come here and do that,” said
Officer Medley of the Lilburn Police Department.
One of the highlights for younger children was the teddy bear
clinic where they received a teddy bear and got to experience a
mock doctor’s office visit first-hand and feel less anxious when
having to go themselves for actual medical care. “I loved
getting a teddy bear from the doctor, “said Naya Patel. “Now I
know how to take care of myself when I get sick.” The clinic
provided a great environment for children to interact with
health care professionals and have a unique experience of
learning more about health and safety.
Both young and old enjoyed the event and left with a renewed
perspective. “I never knew about some of the safety tips that
they taught us, but my favorite part of the day was when we all
got to come outside. It was great with all of the police
officers and firefighters and getting to learn more about what
they do,” said Tilak Patel, a BAPS youth.
This is just one of many initiatives that BAPS Charities has
taken to support local communities. Throughout the year, BAPS
Charities hosts health fairs, walkathons, blood drives, bone
marrow drives, health lecture for adults education and career
development seminars and much more. For additional information
on BAPS Charities and its international and local philanthropic
activities, please visit www.bapscharities.org
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About BAPS Charities
BAPS Charities is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit international
charity organization committed to sincerely serving the world by
caring for individuals, families, and communities. It is
affiliated with BAPS as an independent charity and social
services arm. The 55,000 BAPS volunteers networked in over 3,300
centers around the world provide over 12 million volunteer-hours
of service annually.
Among social service charities, BAPS Charities is a
well-respected and trusted name. It has amassed over 50 years of
firsthand experience in initiating, managing, and sustaining 160
humanitarian operations throughout the world in such diverse
fields as: medical services, environmental services, community
services, tribal services, and disaster relief services.
For additional information on BAPS Charities and its
international and local philanthropic activities, please visit
www.bapscharities.org
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