Thousands of children set to be recognised at Health Awards
Thousands of schoolchildren across Northern Ireland will be recognised at the 2016 Health Action Awards, as leading convenience retailer Centra teams up with Action Cancer for the 14th year of the health promotion schools programme.
Schools, nurseries and colleges are being encouraged to enter the awards, which will take place on June 14th. Judges are looking for those schools who are involved in health promotion, through providing healthy meal options in their cafeteria, promoting extra fruit and water in school, taking part in extra-curricular exercise programmes, or running cancer awareness initiatives.
There are Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards for nursery, primary and secondary schools or colleges with over 60 schools expected to be recognised. A prize of £200 for purchasing school equipment is also up for grabs, and will be awarded to the highest scoring pre-school or nursery, as well as each of the top scoring primary schools, secondary schools or colleges in each of the five Education and Library Boards.
Action Cancer Health Promotion Manager Frances Dowds said: “This has been a very exciting year following the launch of the new-look programme which has proven very popular amongst schools. We are hoping this encourages even more schools to enter the awards, allowing us to celebrate the great work they have carried out promoting good health and well-being to pupils.”
Paula Mahoney, Centra’s Brand Manager added: “Centra has been the proud sponsor of Action Cancer’s Health Action programme since 2003, with stores and Musgrave NI staff raising £1 million for the initiative. The programme provides life-saving work by engaging young people with smart ways to improve their health and fitness levels.”
The unique Health Promotion Programme has delivered healthy lifestyle messages to more than 500,000 young people since its launch 13 years ago.
More than 1,000 nurseries, schools and colleges in Northern Ireland have benefitted from the cancer prevention sessions which include information about keeping fit and active, eating well, being safe in the sun and avoiding the dangers of smoking and alcohol.
Schools, nurseries and colleges can obtain entry forms by contacting Action Cancer on 028 9080 3344 or by emailing Deborah Millar at dmillar@actioncancer.org. Completed Health Action Award forms must be returned to Action Cancer by 26th February 2016 and successful schools will be notified at the end of April 2016.
