FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2009
DHEC names 2008-2009 First Team All-Health student winners
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Pauline Glenn-Springs Elementary won the first-place gold award and $5,000 in the All-Health Team’s annual awards competition, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“The top prize was awarded May 8 from eight monthly winners of student-coordinated preventive health projects,” said Joann Minder, DHEC’s All-Health Team program coordinator. “The winning project, ‘PGS Healthy Harvesters,’ teaches students about the health benefits of growing vegetables and herbs in a school garden, which are then used in the school’s cafeteria. The youth activity committee meets to sample healthy fruits and vegetables, and promotes healthy eating and physical activity in the school, such as the PGS Dance Team.
“Ben Hoover of WIS-TV was the emcee for the event and Smart Cat from ETV congratulated and entertained the winners,” Minder said. “The second-place silver award of $3,000 went to Pleasant Hill Middle School for its ‘Project S.M.I.L.E’ program. ‘Project S.M.I.L.E’ is the first student-led project that integrates academics with real-life applications for students with special needs.”
Minder said the Darlington School District won the third-place bronze award and $2,000 for its “Food, Fitness and Fun” project, which was implemented in nine elementary schools in Darlington to promote nutrition and physical activity. Also recognized were monthly winners: “Go Red for Women,” of Olympia Learning Center; “Living Fit and Healthy,” of Marion Intermediate School; “JME Fitness,” of Jennie Moore Elementary; “Happy Feet Walking Club,” of Oak Grove Elementary; and the “Mt. Olive Clean Hands Project,” of Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church.
DHEC and WIS-TV have sponsored the All-Health Team since 2003 and are proud to welcome BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina as a new sponsor. Each month of the academic year the partnership recognizes and awards an individual or youth group $500 and a 30-second television spot on WIS-TV for promoting health in their school and community. Three top winners are chosen annually and awarded $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000.
For more information, visit the All-Health Team Web site, call Minder at (803) 545-4501, or e-mail her at: minderjm@dhec.sc.gov.
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For media inquiries (and e-photos of winners available to media upon request):
Joann Minder – (803) 545-4501
E-mail – minderjm@dhec.sc.gov
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