| The Bower Foundation
Center for Mississippi Health Policy
The American Lung Association
Hattie Mae & Pals Foundation
The Behavioral Vital Signs
The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi
Mississippi Department of Health
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office
The Mississippi Development Authority
Institutions of Higher Learning
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
Just Have a Ball
Mississippi Public Broadcasting - EdSaid
The Bower Foundation
The Bower Foundation is committed to the promotion of fundamental improvements in the health status of all Mississippians through the creation, expansion, and support of quality healthcare initiatives.
As a Mississippi non-profit, private corporation, The Bower Foundation provides grants to other exempt organizations. The foundation carefully considers its mission and goals when making grants.
Center for Mississippi Health Policy
The Center for MS Health Policy is an independent non-partisan, non-profit organization that provides objective information to inform health policy decisions.
Childhood Obesity Issue Brief
School Nurse Issue Brief
Childhood Obesity Survey
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through Education, Advocacy and Research. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is "Fighting for Air." When you join the American Lung Association in the fight for healthy lungs and healthy air, you help save lives today and keep America healthy tomorrow.
Affecting more than six million children, asthma is the leading serious chronic illness among American kids and is the number one reason for school absenteeism. In addition to providing vital research support, the American Lung Association facilitates asthma-care partnerships involving school nurses and educational staff as well as physicians, families and Lung Association volunteers. Further information regarding asthma effects on students can be found in Healthier Students are Better Learners: A Missing Link in School Reforms to Close the Gap, by Charles E. Basch.
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Hattie Mae & Pals Foundation: Building a Better ME! Program
The objective is to actively involve Mississippians in reducing the high rate of childhood obesity through the efforts of an animated program focused on containing childhood obesity in Mississippi. Through the efforts of our national spokesperson and animated character "Hattie Mae", our program will educate and promote wellness and healthful lifestyles for children at risk, and promote good nutrition and exercise, thus mitigating the current upward trend of obesity in the state. Click here to go to the Hattie Mae & Pals Foundation web site. |
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The Behavioral Vital Signs (BVS) survey is a collaborative effort between the Mississippi Children’s Home Service (MCHS), University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. BVS was recently launched in select Mississippi schools with the purpose to provide an assessment of the behavioral ecology of each school's student body as well as their social well being. It has been proven that behavioral health is known to have a large impact on a students’ academic achievement. The information gathered from this survey can then be used to support students’ positive educational, behavioral, and emotional development. The use of BVS is cutting edge, placing Mississippi in the forefront of understanding and caring for the behavioral health of our children. In improving the behavioral health of Mississippi children we can only improve their academic performance. If your school is interested in participating or you would like to learn more, please contact one of the lead investigators: John Young Robert Latzman Laurie Heiden.
The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi
The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi provides diabetes research, information, patient services and advocacy to the 346,500 Mississippians living with diabetes.
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi
A strong foundation is vital, whether it is for a building, organization or a community. The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi is working to build a healthier Mississippi for generations to come by creating a strong foundation of health and wellness awareness in the state. The Let's Go Walkin' Program has been established to help you improve your health, your mood and your life with the simple act of walking every day. Walking will improve your health, help you breathe easier, build stronger muscles and much more. You’ll get that good feeling that comes from being active, and you will be setting a good example for others. With the simple act of walking, you give a little time and get back so much more.
Let's Go Walkin' Mississippi!
Project Fit America continues to have a positive impact on children across the state through funding from the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, giving kids the opportunity to get fit and healthy while having fun. Through this support, 164 schools in Mississippi are now benefiting from Project Fit America grants. With the prevalence of childhood obesity and sedentary lifestyles, Project Fit America is helping kids get back to the basics with physical activity. The equipment is designed to help improve physical and cardiovascular strength in kids, while classroom-based curriculum teaches healthy choices and promotes self-esteem. Schools benefiting from the program are reporting significant increases in students’ fitness levels. Some schools have reported as much as a 159 percent increase in students’ cardiovascular fitness and a 92 percent increase in upper body strength.
For more information about Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Mississippi and Project Fit America, please visit the following links:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation- http://www.healthiermississippi.org/grants-projects.php
Project Fit America Home Page- http://www.projectfitamerica.org/index.html
Mississippi’s Project Fit Schools - http://www.projectfitamerica.org/schools_sponsors.html#MS
Mississippi’s Project Fit America’s All-Star Teachers- http://www.projectfitamerica.org/AllStarTeacher_Gallery/index.html
Project Fit America Lesson Plans - http://www.projectfitamerica.org/Lesson_Plans/index.html
Mississippi Department of Health
The Mississippi Department of Education's Office of Healthy Schools and the Mississippi Department of Health have partnered to provide materials to local school districts to create awareness regarding the West Nile Virus. To download posters, coloring sheets, and bookmarks please visit the Health Education Resource Page.
To view a directory of all of the data sets that MSDH has in the area of children's health, visit
The Health Services Data Resource Directory.
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office
The Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools and The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office have partnered to promote The National Association of Attorneys General Resolution in support of Teen Dating Violence.
This resolution encourages:
Each school district to teach an age-appropriate dating violence curriculum through health education classes.
Each school district to develop a dating violence policy to address incidents of dating violence that occur at school and inform parents of such policy.
Each school district to provide dating violence training to administrators, teachers, nurses and mental health staff at the middle and high school levels.
Provide dating violence awareness trainings for parents.
Also, The Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools, The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, The Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence and The Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault are working together to develop age appropriate curriculums to be incorporated in other school subjects.
To view The National Association of Attorneys General Resolution in support of Teen Dating Violence visit http://www.naag.org/resolutions
To obtain dating violence curriculums visit http://www.healthyschoolsms.org/health_education/contacts_resources_data.htm
The Mississippi Development Authority Authorities Office of Tourism Development have partnered to promote culture and heritage in Mississippi. Ora Reed (picture), Mississippi's Cultural Ambassador, and James "Super Chikan" Johnson presented Mississippi Culture- Its Your Culture in ten middle schools in Mississippi. Participants are eligible to receive prizes for participating in phase two of the Mississippi Culture Student Program. If your school is interested in hosting an event in 2007 please contact Shane McNeill by email psmcneill@mde.k12.ms.us or by phone 601-359-1737. Hernando Middle School Students Study Mississippi’s Rich Musical Heritage Press Release
Institutions of Higher Learning
Delta State University Health Educators Newsletter
University of Mississippi Medical Center
The Mississippi Department of Education's Office of Healthy Schools and The University of Mississippi Medical Center's Center of Excellence have partnered to promote TEAM Mississippi: A Partnership for Healthy Families. This partnership began as a result of understanding the relationship between the health of students and academic achievement and the role the parent plays in promoting a healthy environment in the home setting.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
The Mississippi Department of Education's Office of Healthy Schools and The Mississippi Development of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks has partnered to promote the No Child Left Inside Program to promote a healthy active lifestyle. For more information contact Amanda Mills at amanda.mills@mdwfp.state.ms.us.
Also, to provide resources to support a quality physical education program for schools in Mississippi the MDWFP has launched the National Archery in Schools Program. For more information visit www.mdwfp.com or contact:
Waldo Cleland, Chairman, Mississippi Archery in the Schools 601-674-0777
Bob Tyler, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks 601-432-2011
Sharon Miller, Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks Foundation 601-432-2011
Who We Are
Just Have a Ball is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises the awareness of play as a way to combat childhood obesity in Mississippi.
What We Do
In an assembly format, Just Have a Ball promotes to Mississippi elementary students the advantages of play and the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle. Each student takes home a sports ball that does not require other equipment. Balls are also given to the Physical Education program to assist them in meeting the MS Healthy Students Act mandate of 150 minutes per week of activity based instruction. In addition, Just Have a Ball supports the Office of Healthy School’s initiative to promote family and community involvement in the school environment. Since its inception in January 2008, Just Have A Ball has given approximately 6,200 Mississippi elementary students a sports ball.
Our Mission
The mission of Just Have a Ball is to increase the opportunities for Mississippi elementary students to be physically active. Just Have a Ball is a simple, but effective tool for combating childhood obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that young people say they like physical activity because it is fun. Just Have a Ball supports a child’s natural tendency towards play as a method for staying physically fit and active. Exercise sounds hard and daunting, but play is fun and accomplishes the same results! Research confirms that play not only keeps our children happy and healthy, but it also helps to stimulate brain development and attentiveness in children. Play also promotes social interaction that leads to skill development in coping, conflict resolution, creative thinking, communication, and imagination.
Background
Youth Philanthropists Wilson (10 years old) and Hartwell (seven years old) Furr founded Just Have a Ball. Positive leaders with a sense of social responsibility, they identified a need in their community and through Just Have a Ball, they are addressing the need and seeking a solution.
Wilson and Hartwell are Peer to Peer Just Have a Ball Assembly Speakers. The Mississippi Preventing Obesity with Every Resource (POWER) Project recommends in their 2007 Environmental Scan of Childhood Obesity Efforts strategies that youth engage in planning and delivering programs. The report specifically states that youth can best reach their peers.
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