Final Event of Summer-Long Day Camp in Hobson City Focuses on Health, Wellness

By Graham Milldrum, The Anniston Star, Ala.

Aug. 2–It might seem that talking about stranger danger and healthy eating would drag down a back-to-school party.

That emphasis didn’t seem to bother the approximately 50 children at the back-to-school fun day and health and wellness event Friday at the Sable Community Center in Hobson City.

Shaded tables edged a vacant lot where children played. The tables were loaded with information on how to live a healthier life.

The event was a culmination of the summer-long day camp program, said the Rev. Dr. Randy Kelley, a Methodist pastor who works with the camp. It was different from the usual classes, said AmeriCorps volunteer Amber Collins. Typically, the children had classes with lots of sitting and learning, she said.

There wasn’t much sitting quietly Friday. The alcohol awareness event was far from sedate. Children wore special goggles that helped them understand how drunkenness affects vision. The top speed the children could reach was a stumbling walk.

The best thing was “painting other people’s faces,” Naquan Christian, 7, said. He said his specialties were spiders and snakes.

Jacorious Ball, 7, had a larger repertoire. He painted spiders, snakes, flowers, cars and crosses.

Chadajia Wood, 6, proudly wore a heart and a flower on her face.

Adults would paint faces and arms at the table, but children were the most prolific artists. Some used stencils, but most painted with a careful, yet unrestrained, free-hand style.

The face, arm and neck painting table was at one end of a ring of educational tables. Eight groups were set up to teach about a wide variety of health issues and help explain the resources available.

Some of the groups had taught the children before, and were there for the parents. One was the Alabama Department of Public Health, said Coretta Grant, the tobacco prevention and control coordinator. She had taught the kids how unhealthy smoking is and why they shouldn’t start.

Her fellow table worker, Thelma Rowden with the Calhoun County Health Department, had to be somewhat careful with her materials.

One of her major programs was about abstinence, which she said was inappropriate for the youth of the crowd. But she wanted that information, and the information on family planning, to circulate in the community when parents and adults came by.

One of the great things about this health fair was the location, Grant said. Since it was near the center of Hobson City, adults lacking transportation had no trouble visiting.

Adults were expected and planned for, but by noon only a few had shown up, Lakita Varner said. She was working for Sarrell Regional Dental Center, handing out free toothbrushes, toothpaste and information on dental health to the children.

Kelley expected that there would be many more adults toward the end of the event.

And some had stopped by. Adults with yellow bags from AllKids Health Insurance dotted the area.

About Graham Milldrum Graham Milldrum is a reporter for The Star. He is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill.

—–

To see more of The Anniston Star or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.annistonstar.com/.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Anniston Star, Ala.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.