MEDIA ALERT
WELLER CENTER TO DELIVER ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE TO CHILDREN AT PLEASANT VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PLEASANT VALLEY – The Weller Health Education Center will visit Pleasant Valley Elementary School Monday, April 24 and Tuesday, April 25 to help nearly 400 third grade students learn about the consequences of smoking. The one-hour program, called Tobacco Free, You and Me, will be presented at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day.
The Weller Center’s programs are part of The Blue Ribbon Foundation of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s efforts to help child make positive choices about their health.
The Foundation funded sessions for more than 4,000 youngsters with an $18,000 grant to Weller Health Education Center. Most educational sessions include third and fourth graders. It is at this age when children make decisions about drugs, smoking, alcohol and other harmful substances.
Tobacco Free, You and Me explores the dangers of tobacco use to smokers and those around them. It includes high-impact images and student activities to reinforce the harmful effects of tobacco use and erase common myths. Kids learn about the harmful ingredients in cigarettes by building a pizza with “toxic” toppings and see a demonstration of how tar from cigarettes coats the lungs.
Please help us teach children that they have power over their health. Your coverage will spread the word about substance abuse and may prompt parents to talk to their children about harmful substances.
Pleasant Valley Elementary School is located at Polk Township and Burger Hollow roads just off Route 209S in Kunkletown. The number is 570-402-1000, extension 6001.
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About Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania:
Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to approximately 600,000 individuals in 13 counties in Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania. The company’s mission is to provide innovative solutions that support more affordable health care, promote personal accountability for health and wellness, and offer superior service and partnership to employers, members, and providers.
About the Weller Health Education Center
The mission of the Weller Health Education Center is to measurably improve children’s lives by giving students the tools they need to make informed and healthy life choices. To accomplish this, each year the Center partners with more than 500 schools to supplement and enhance the teaching of health, character education and life science for students grades K through 12. The Center was the first not-for-profit health promotion, disease prevention education facility of its kind in Pennsylvania. Serving more than 1.2 million children since our inception in 1982, the Weller Center remains the only such center in our 39-county service area and one of just 34 health education centers across the nation.
Contact:
Gerry Snyder Lisa Liddington
Blue Cross of NEPA Weller Health Education Center
Phone: (570) 200-6310 Phone: 610-258-8500, ext. 26
E-mail: Gerard.Snyder@BCNEPA.com E-mail : lliddington@wellercenter.org
Web: www.bcnepa.com Web: www.wellercenter.org