Warm Springs Academy joins ‘Healthy Life Schools Challenge’
In an effort to raise awareness of healthier eating among faculty, staff, and students at Warm Springs K-8 Academy, PacificSource Health Plans has launched its monthlong Healthy Life Schools Challenge.
The challenge, which began May 1 and continues through May 27, rewards Warm Springs K-8 Academy with a $3000 donation from PacificSource to be used to support health and wellness efforts within their school for replacing high calorie snacks and replacing them with fresh fruits and/or vegetables.
Participants will have a head start toward achieving their goal courtesy of PacificSource, which is supplying Warm Springs K-8 Academy each week with fresh fruits and vegetables for the competition.
“Our goal with the challenge is to increase motivation to develop and practice healthy behaviors, and to empower staff to be healthy role models for our students,” said Ken Parshall, principal at Warm Springs Academy.
Warms Springs Academy students can also take part in the challenge by participating in the PacificSource Healthy Life Essay Contest. Elementary students (K-5) are invited to write in their own words what it means to them to live a healthy life. The winning student, along with a friend, will receive free admission to a weeklong Jordan Kent Skill Camp this summer in Bend.
While new this year to Warm Springs Academy, the Healthy Life Schools Challenge has since 2012 been hugely successful at promoting health eating at schools in Eugene and Springfield, where staff participation district-wide exceeds 60 percent.
“For the past five years, the Healthy Life Schools Challenge has proven that small, simple changes, like replacing one high calorie snack with a healthier choice, can add up to make one big difference,” said Alexa Shook, director of Health Promotion and Wellness for PacificSource Health Plans. “The staff at Warm Springs Academy will have the opportunity to eat better both during the challenge and beyond, while earning money for their school.”
About PacificSource Healthy Life™:
Through collaboration with individuals, organizations, academic institutions, and other key stakeholders, PacificSource Healthy Life™ facilitates the adoption and maintenance of positive health behaviors in four key areas: physical activity, healthy eating, smoke free living, and stress management. With programs throughout the Pacific Northwest, Healthy Life is a leader with regard to wellness initiatives that improve the health of the people in the communities that PacificSource Health Plans serves. For more information about PacificSource Healthy Life, visit http://healthylifechallenge.org/Challenges/ or contact Alexa Shook at alexa.shook@pacificsource.com
About PacificSource Health Plans:
PacificSource Health Plans is an independent, not-for-profit community health plan serving the Northwest. Founded in 1933, PacificSource is based in Eugene, Oregon, with local offices throughout Oregon and in Idaho and Montana. The PacificSource family of companies employs 700 people, serves more than 275,000 individuals, and has 3,900 employer clients throughout the Northwest. PacificSource Community Health Plans, Inc. is a subsidiary of PacificSource Health Plans and markets Medicare Advantage products under the name PacificSource Medicare. PacificSource Community Solutions, Inc. is a subsidiary of PacificSource Health Plans and provides Medicaid coverage in Oregon through the Oregon Health Plan. For more information visit pacificsource.com.
