We Can! is collaborating with community organizations and coalitions around the country to take an active role in creating healthier hometown environments that promote a healthy weight. We Can! Community Sites include parks and recreation departments, State and county health care departments, health care systems, and local coalitions of medical practitioners and city planning groups.
There are two types of We Can! community sites: Intensive Community Sites, who were selected to pilot We Can! with specific program implementation and evaluation requirements, and General Community Sites, who continue to join the We Can! program with fewer program and evaluation requirements. All of the sites are using We Can! materials and messages as a platform to deliver science-based programming and educational materials to children and their families. They are also organizing community events designed to increase awareness about their programs and to encourage healthier nutrition and physical activity throughout their area.
In addition, We Can! Intensive Community Sites are collaborating with NIH to provide resources for children and families. These Sites have received materials and resources to implement and evaluate We Can!, and are provided technical assistance to support local partnership and media outreach. In exchange for this support, they have agreed to a one-year commitment to We Can!, during which they are completing the following requirements:
We Can! curricula include:
You can learn more about these curricula by visiting Get Involved Materials.
We Can! Intensive Community Sites
Read about the We Can! Intensive Community Site activities below. Visit Find We Can! Community Sites for a state-by-state listing of all We Can! Intensive and General Community sites!
Alabama Department of Public Health
The Alabama Department of Public Health's Worksite Wellness Division and Nutrition and Physical Activity Unit are working collaboratively with the Alabama Department of Education to provide nutrition and physical activity information and training to 21st Century Community Learning Centers throughout the State. In this capacity they are offering CATCH Kid's Club and Media-Smart Youth through schools and community-based organizations, together with the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers to parents in schools and churches. They are also reaching out through We Can! community events such as local health fairs.
The City of Tamarac Parks and Recreation Department
The Tamarac Parks and Recreation Department works to meet the cultural, social, physical wellness and recreational needs of its residents through leisure activities, summer camps, educational and training seminars, fitness and athletic programs, and teen and cultural activities. As a We Can! Intensive Community Site, the Tamarac Parks and Recreation Department is working with schools, recreation centers and summer camps to offer CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers to youth and parents in their community. They are hosting We Can! community events in a local sporting complex, city hall, and a recreation center.
Team Effort between Cities of Roswell and Athens, Georgia
The City of Roswell's Recreation and Parks Department and Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services are collaborating as an Intensive Site to provide We Can! programming to their communities. As park and recreation organizations, they strive to meet the leisure needs of their communities by providing comprehensive recreational opportunities through high quality parks and facilities. Together, they are offering CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth, S.M.A.R.T. and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers to youth and parents in their respective areas. They currently have partnerships with schools and local community-based organizations to implement their programming, and are hosting community events in schools and parks.
The Gary Youth Services Bureau and Park Recreation
The Gary Youth Services Bureau and Park Recreation Department is an out-of-court delinquency prevention and youth advocacy agency, whose goal is to offer programs and activities that provide positive alternatives to negative behavior for all Gary youth 18 years old and younger. Integrating We Can! programming into its existing services, the Youth Services Bureau is working through a diversity of settings to extend healthy nutrition and physical activity messages to the City of Gary. They are offering CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers through a local Pop Warner football program, Boys and Girls Club, and recreation center. They are also promoting We Can! objectives through community events such as a local health fair and after-school program celebration.
South Bend Parks and Recreation Department
The South Bend Parks and Recreation Department works through 75 local parks and facilities, including a minor league baseball stadium, a local zoo, and a man made white water rapids facility, to provide residents with opportunities for recreation and leisure activities. South Bend is working across its city's recreation centers to provide CATCH Kid's Club and Media-Smart Youth programming to youth, and is offering the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers to city employees. Their planned community events include activities ranging from a youth triathalon to a family concert in the park.
Montgomery County Recreation Department
The Montgomery County Department of Recreation provides leisure activities, recreation, and entertainment for the residents of Montgomery County, Maryland. As a We Can! Intensive Community Site, the department is offering CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers to youth and parents through summer camps and after-school settings. They are reaching out to the broader community with We Can! messages through health fairs, trail walks and fitness festivals.
Boston Public Health Commission
The Boston Public Health Commission is the country's oldest health department, working to protect, promote and preserve the health and well-being of all Boston residents, particularly the most vulnerable, through a wide range of health initiatives that target preventable disease and injury. Through We Can!, the Commission is reaching out to youth and parents through summer camps, after-school programming, and a community health center. They are running CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers with some of Boston's most at-risk populations, and are working through events like a public school health and resource fair and a family nights to reach out to their greater community.
Hillcrest Campus of Berkshire Medical Center, Operation Better Start
Operation Better Start is a unique partnership of diverse clinical disciplines working together to provide a coordinated framework of services to children, adolescents, and their families. The goal of the program is to achieve positive changes in long-term health through an emphasis on healthy lifestyles, personal empowerment, and coordination of services between health care providers. With partnerships ranging from the Pittsfield Public School System, YMCA, Berkshire Nautilus, Berkshire WIC, to Berkshire County Headstart, Operation Better Start is using We Can! programming to reach a largely rural audience through youth and parent curricula, and community events.
Project Healthy Schools: a Community-University Collaborative
The University of Michigan Health System's Cardiovascular Center, M-Fit Promotion Division and Mott Children's Hospital are working together with Ann Arbor Public Schools, the U-M School of Public Health, the Washtenaw County Health Department and several community leaders and businesses to offer We Can! programming to youth and parents in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Operating primarily as an in-school programming vehicle, this coalition of community organizations is implementing the S.M.A.R.T. curriculum and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers.
Springfield-Greene County Park Board
The Springfield-Greene County Park Board works through the Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation Department to provide leisure opportunities for the citizens of Springfield, Missouri. Targeting summer day camps, after-school programs and elementary schools, the Park Board is offering CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers to parents and youth in the community. Program managers are extending We Can! messages to the broader community through events in after-school settings, local parks and the regional airport.
University of Nevada Las Vegas Department of Nutrition Sciences
This University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Department of Nutrition Sciences is coordinating a We Can! team effort for Southern Nevada between the City of Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services and the City of Henderson Department of Parks and Recreation. The UNLV Department of Nutrition Sciences supports dietetics as a professional discipline guided by attitudes, beliefs, and a code of ethics that emphasizes the interdependence among individuals and groups in society. Both the City of Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services and the City of Henderson Department of Parks and Recreation strive to promote and provide quality cultural and recreational experiences through diverse and innovative parks, recreation facilities and activities, and natural resource opportunities. This collaboration is working to deliver We Can! programming through CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers in primarily after-school settings. They are coordinating community events in city parks and schools.
Benton County Healthy Weight and Lifestyle Coalition
Supported by the Benton County Health Department, the Benton County Healthy Weight and Lifestyle Coalition is made up of 22 community members and partner agencies working to encourage County residents to improve their health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases through daily physical activity and healthy eating. In support of We Can!, the Coalition is offering CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers through after-school programming, park and recreation centers and local PTA affiliates. The Coalition is reaching out to the broader County community through activities like a skateboard event to encourage physical activity in youth, a month-long promotion of local trails to families, and a local family swim and health fair event in a park and recreation aquatic facility.
Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth
Servicing Eugene, Oregon, the Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth (LCHAY) formed as an offshoot of the Lane County Medical Society's public health efforts regarding childhood obesity. Now totaling more than 65 members, LCHAY includes community leaders in medicine, education, public health, nutrition, fitness/recreation, public transit, the food industry, and academia. Its mission is to prevent childhood obesity by mobilizing the community to adopt active lifestyles and healthful nutrition. The coalition is using its extensive partnership base to offer CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers to local youth and their families in park and recreation facilities, schools, and community-based organizations. Community events include a community fitness challenge, a local Olympic-themed event featuring physical activities and education for all ages and abilities, and a multicultural family neighborhood celebration promoting physical activity for youth and their families.
The Children's Hospital at Scott & White
The Children's Hospital at Scott and White is the largest multi-specialty practice in Texas. As a part of its prevention efforts, it is an active partner in the Children's Health and Wellness Coalition, a group of Central Texas community leaders committed to developing comprehensive, school-based health care and health education initiatives to promote children's health. As part of We Can!, and through the efforts of its broader coalition, Scott & White is offering CATCH Kid's Club, Media-Smart Youth, S.M.A.R.T. and the We Can! Energize Our Families: Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers through schools, and youth and recreation centers. Their We Can! community events will tie into National Trails Day and National Family Health & Fitness Day and will work to provide families with innovative ways to learn about a healthy weight, such as walking a local trail with doctors to talk about nutrition and fitness and offering activities and games for youth and their families at a local farmers market.
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