The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX

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November 15, 2009

‘Promise’ to host community health program

By Jessica Priest



The Huntsville’s Promise will host a program on “Building a Healthy Community” on Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Wynne Home.

The come-and-go event will provide local residents with strategies for developing a healthy community as well as information about local non-profit organizations.

“We are excited,” said Meghan Sturrock, executive director of Huntsville’s Promise. “It’s a great opportunity for people to come together and share ideas about community needs — especially for the youth.”

Rebekah Keefe will open the program at 6 p.m. with an address about the importance of community service.

A high school junior who aspires to be a nurse, Keefe embodies the message of her speech.

She not only serves as a piano accompanist for the Huntsville Youth Orchestra, but also competes in the Lincoln-Douglass debate and oratory competitions and is an active member of the Huntsville Area Rhetoric Team.

The Huntsville Area Rhetoric Team, or HART, is a group of local home schooled students whose purpose is to serve the community while developing cultural communication skills.

“The HART program exemplifies the type of activities that help make communities successful,” said Huntsville’s Promise board member Laken Jenkins. “The program provides a service to the community, teaches students the importance of giving, and also helps them develop skills. It is an innovative program.”

Following Keefe’s speech, Sturrock will join Dr. David Prier, chairman of Huntsville’s board of directors, for a short presentation on promoting healthy and successful youth.

Representatives from Huntsville YMCA and Walker County Boys and Girls Club will also be present to give poster talks and distribute literature.

They will demonstrate how their programs promote education, civic engagement, and success among young people.

Huntsville’s Promise board member Tamara Chasteen will also be on hand to disccess asset development for young people.

According to Huntsville’s Promise member Mike Yawn, the Search Institute found 40 developmental assets believed to make stronger youth and communities.

These factors could possibly determine a child’s future success and the success of a community at large.

“The children who have these assets are the most successful,” Yawn said. “If we can make sure these assets are avaliable to youth (in the area), we can build a stronger community.”

Chasteen is also working to organize an essay-writing progam designed to encourage students to write about asset development and engage in public service.

“They are learning how to write better, they are learning how to make their communities better, and they are having fun in the process,” Yawn said.

According to Yawn, the Huntsville’s Promise has been planning the “Building a Healthy Community” event for three to four months and they have many other activities planned for the future.

“We have partnered with Dr. David Payne, a Huntsville’s Promise board member and the Provost at Sam Houston State University, recently to can peanut butter at a peanut butter factory in Spring, Texas,” Yawn said.

“We now have 16,000 cans of peanut butter.”

The Huntsville’s Promise hopes to work with local non-profit organizations in the near future in order to distribute the peanut butter effectively.

For more information on the Huntsville’s Promise or the “Building a Healthy Community” event, please call (936) 291-5950 or e-mail huntsvillespromise@gmail.com.

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