Join us for FREE Windham Field Day--April 18th

Windham County– In recognition of Global Youth Service Day, Eastern CT Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Inc. AmeriCorps members will host the 2nd Annual Windham Field Day for elementary aged children and their families at Phillip Lauter Park, 625 Jackson Street, Willimantic. The Field Day will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2015 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. The event will include free food and prizes, fun activities, live music and valuable information and resources! This event is FREE, family friendly, and open to the public.

In 1988, Youth Service America (YSA) founded National Youth Service Day in the United States. In 2000, the movement expanded internationally to include youth from more than 26 countries. Since then, Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) has grown to become the largest service event in the world. Celebrating the contributions that youth make in their communities every day, GYSD now mobilizes over 1 million young people, global and national partners in over 135 countries to perform meaningful service to their community.

The Connecticut AHEC Program was established in 1995 by the Connecticut General Assembly. The program is based at the University of Connecticut, School of Medicine in Farmington and implemented by four regional AHEC’s, including Eastern CT AHEC, Inc., located in Willimantic. Eastern AHEC, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization serving Windham and New London counties.

One of Eastern AHEC’s cornerstone programs, the Youth Health Service Corps (YHSC) program, engages high school students as leaders in service learning projects that address community health needs. Students are trained using a five module curriculum that prepares them to serve in health care settings that serve the underserved. Similarly, Eastern AHEC’s Collegiate Health Service Corps (CHSC) program exposes undergraduate college students to health careers through disease prevention and preventative health education with medically underserved populations. At Global Youth Service Day, student participants from Windham YHSC programs will facilitate fun Field Day activities such as water balloon toss, tug of war, face painting and various relay races. CHSC students will partner with organizations such as Grow Windham, Generations Family Health Center, the Connecticut Food Bank and End Hunger CT, to educate families about childhood obesity, and provide information and resources on healthy eating and exercise.

For more information regarding this event, please contact Eastern AHEC, Inc. AmeriCorps members David Lau, Youth Health Service Corps (YHSC) Coordinator, at lau@easternctahec.org or Gina Lopez, Collegiate Health Service Corps (CHSC) Coordinator, at lopez@easternctahec.org or call 860-465-8281 ext. 105.

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Eastern CT AHEC Inc.’s mission is to enhance access to culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare education and increase the diversity, quality, and distribution of future healthcare professionals.

Refer to http://easternctahec.org/ to learn more about Eastern CT AHEC, Inc.