The Maine Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Sports, Health, and Wellness endorses the following programs.
WinterKids is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help Maine children develop life-long habits of health, education, and fitness through outdoor winter activities. Their flagship program, the WinterKids Passport, lets every Maine 5th, 6th, and 7th grader enjoy free alpine and cross-country skiing all winter long. New in 2003 is the addition of passes to ice arenas. The Winter Outdoor Fitness Guide helps teachers incorporate activity into their current education programs.
The WinterKids Outdoor Fitness Program has
been aligned with the State of Maine Lea
rning Results and is endorsed by the
Maine Principals' and Maine Superintendents' Associations, as well as Past Governor
Angus King, and Dr. Dora Mills, Director, Maine Bureau of Health..
Any teacher can obtain a copy of the manual by contacting Carla Marcus at 207-761-3774 or by e-mail at cmarcus@winterkids.org. More information on WinterKids can be found at www.winterkids.org.
Healthy Maine Walks
Healthy Maine Walks is sponsored by a coalition of trail, health agencies, and other organizations working together to build a healthier Maine. We have joined forces to promote healthier lifestyles by making it easier for Mainers to find and use walking routes in towns all across the state. The vision is to have at least one designated walking route in every Maine community. Communities can register their walking routes and people who wish to include a pleasant walk in their daily routine can find one. The web site provides communities and individuals with information on the benefits of physical activity in our daily lives as well as suggesting resources that can help communities develop a route or build a trail. For more information and a list of registered trails, visit www.healthymainewalks.org.
Tobacco Free Athletes
An Initiative of The Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine. Promote tobacco-free living to your players in the following ways:
Model healthy behaviors you would like your players to assume.
Talk to your players about the health effects of tobacco use. (Talking points are found in the Tobacco-Free Athletes (TFA) Coach Manual distributed by The Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine (PTM) and the local Healthy Maine Partnerships.)
Adopt the tobacco-free team policy promoted in the TFA Coach Manual.
Share this policy with your players' parents.
Refuse tobacco company sponsorship of any type.
Work with other coaches and parents to make the playing fields your team uses tobacco-free.
Collaborate with your local Healthy Maine Partnership and recreation department to help make all recreation facilities tobacco-free.
For more
information about the Tobacco-Free Athletes Coach Manuals, contact PTM at
207-287-4625 or go online at www.tobaccofreemaine.org
and click on tobacco use prevention.
Healthy Aim
Maine kids are increasingly suffering the effects of poor nutrition and inactivity. Walt Shepard, an Olympic hopeful biathlete, wants to start a dialogue with the youth of our state about being accountable to themselves for their choices in life and create awareness for what it will take to be healthy. Program goals include: 1) To model being accountable to yourself in order to reach your potential; 2) To have a lasting impact on the lives of Maine kids; and 3) To have a widespread influence in Maine. For more information about Healthy Aim, including information on how to get Walt to visit your school, go to www.healthyaim.com.
Sun Safety in Maine
The Maine Department of Education, in conjunction with the Maine Department of Human Services, the Bureau of Health, and the Maine Cancer Consortium have been working on a Sun Safety Kit for Maine high schools. The "Sun Safety in Maine" kit is targeted for teens. The purpose of the kit is to raise awareness of skin cancer prevention in Maine and to change the behaviors of Maine teens to practice sun safety habits. The Sun Safety kit will be distributed to all Maine high schools during the summer of 2004. Each kit will include a video addressing the topic of sun safety, a notebook of current, accurate information, and several sun safety activity ideas to implement at the local level. A highlight of the information in the notebook is a sample policy for schools to adapt or adopt that addresses sun safety behavior and will provide a school-wide approach to the prevention of skin cancer.
Move and Improve
Move & Improve (M&I) of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems is a community-based program designed to encourage and empower individuals to engage in a healthier lifestyle by increasing their level of physical activity. Through the use of structured goals, M&I gives you the opportunity to identify the goal that best fits your needs as well as tips and helpful information to keep you motivated along the way!
Cost -------------- FREE
Length ------------- 12 weeks
Registration ------ January 31 - March 21
Goals --------------- Participants must be active for 8 of the
12 weeks for a minimum of 30-minutes per day, 4 days per week or 45-minutes
a day, 5 days a week..
For more information, visit us at www.moveandimprove.org.
March Into May
March Into May is a FREE 10-week health improvement program. Its design allows for a fun and effective way to increase physical activity for anyone that participates, by helping them find what works best for them. The goal of the program is to improve the health of participants by motivating them to increase physical activity through activities they enjoy.
March Into May is sponsored by Healthy Portland, Public Health Division, Health and Human Services Department; Martin's Point Health Care; Council on International Educational Exchange; Communities Promoting Health/PROP; and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
If you are interested in joining the program or have any questions, please call Rick Fortier at 207-874-8618 or email him at rmf@portlandmaine.gov. Check out their new website at www.marchintomay.org.
Take Time!
The Take Time! Program provides participating Maine K-8 schools with creative ways to incorporate physical activity and nutrition messages throughout the school day. The Take Time! program provides opportunities for all students to engage in 10-20 minutes of accumulated daily physical activity inside and outside of the classroom in addition to the existing physical education classes and recess. For more information, go to www.maine-nutrition.org/PhysAct/TakeTime.htm.
11 Parkwood Drive, Augusta, Maine 04330 - 207-622-7566