Information provided by San Benito County Public Health Services. Lea este articulo en español aquÃ.
In the first week of April San Benito County Public Health Services returned to hosting events for the community during National Public Health Week for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a release from the agency it said the following:
The first week of April marked our first year back to hosting events for our community during National Public Health Week since the pandemic began! We are beyond grateful for all our amazing partners who collaborated with us during this celebratory week, helping bring health and wellness front and center in our community.
We kicked the week off on Monday, April 1st at the San Benito County Free Library. Our gracious hosts held a virtual reading session and puppet show with our very own dental hygienist, Jennifer Frusetta. Participants learned all about oral health and how important it is to our overall health. We hope everyone learned something new about their own oral health! Check it out at: Brushing Up On Stories.
First 5 San Benito granted us access to their pristine commercial kitchen on Tuesday for a mango black bean salad cooking demonstration. Our talented CalFresh Health Living health educators, Audry Kodama and Ofelia Prieto, conducted the food demo and the food itself was (no surprise here) tasty, fresh and healthy! First 5 had the perfect space to prepare, cut and mix all our ingredients for the recipe; not to mention, there was even enough space for a live audience to watch the demo.
Community members laced up their walking shoes on Wednesday and joined health educator, Janet Gonzalez, for a wellness walk through one of Hollister’s beautiful neighborhoods. One feature of this walk was learning about pedestrian safety, special thanks to Ofelia Prieto (coordinator for Safe Kids San Benito County) for all the tips.
The real highlight of this event was interacting with the special guests from San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, K-9 Deputy Koda and Commander Lobdell! K-9 Deputy Koda definitely brought out smiles and laughter from all who attended the walk. A big thank you to our Sheriff’s Office for taking time out of your busy schedules to support this event.
An innovative art gallery was held Thursday at First 5, displaying the art of over 100 young artists from the YMCA’s Excel Beyond the Bell program. The theme for the art contest was Radiant Futures. Inspired young artists using different mediums showcased their idea of what a substance free future looks like. The San Benito County Arts Council partnered with us for this event, assisting with promotion, guiding us on the judging rubric, and even donating prizes for the contest. Our first-place winner for Radiant Futures was Koda Harnois, who won the grand prize of an art scholarship to the Arts Council’s summer camp. This event would not have been possible without all the wonderful artists at the YMCA, the space provided by First 5, the generous donations from the San Benito County Arts Council, and our very own Daisy Reynoso of the Tobacco Education Program who was the driving force behind this event.
We ended our week at the YMCA with Fitness Friday! The YMCA’s fabulous instructor, Victoria Perez led participants through an exciting, jam-packed full body workout. Everyone in the class had a superb (and sweaty) time moving. Post-workout, guests enjoyed a delicious strawberry smoothie courtesy of the CalFresh Healthy Living team.
A big thank you to health educator, Genessis Smith, who helped coordinate both well-attended events. As per usual, the YMCA did a fantastic job promoting and encouraging individuals to attend this lively event.
Our partners were essential in making National Public Health Week a success. It was a pleasure to showcase some of our programs within the community. A huge thank you to the San Benito County Free Library, First 5 San Benito, San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, San Benito County Arts Council, and YMCA of San Benito County. We are incredibly grateful to work with some of the best agencies and communities here in San Benito County! Stay tuned and please join us next year for some or all our National Public Health Week activities during the first week of April.