Making Health Information Fun at the CHIP of NRV Hispanic Health Fair by Amy Sorensen
The Hispanic Health Fair sponsored by the Children’s Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP) of the New River Valley took place on June 29, 2013. CHIP of NRV’s Registered Nurse, Jane Hellman, was the driving force that helped make the Hispanic Health Fair a huge success. Jane has a long history of working in the Hispanic community to promote health and wellness. Jane and several volunteers were able to bring together several partners from the community to share information at the Fair.
The Salvation Army was on hand to share with families the services that they provide to the community.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension provided healthy snacks and nutrition education.
A local Hispanic restaurant provided lunch with food preparation demonstration and popular Mexican drinks.
There was a display set up to illustrate high sugar content in unhealthy drinks versus sugar content in healthy drinks.
There was a local doula on hand to answer questions about childbirth and breastfeeding.
The children enjoyed juggling and balloon animals. Children and adults learned from the hula-hoop instructor. The face painting and piñata were also a huge hit! Free bilingual books were given away in goody bags that were stuffed with tons of useful information. Numerous bilingual flyers and pamphlets were available with educational information and resources available to families.
CHIP of NRV is a non-profit program, working with New River Community Action and local health and human services providers since 1992. CHIP strives to promote child wellness, build on family strengths, and help income-eligible families become healthy and self-sufficient. CHIP works with other programs as well to make our community healthier – recently working on a project with Baby’s First Test to spread awareness of newborn screening.