Campaign Season Far from Over in Delaware

February 4, 2009

Neither low temperatures, nor impending inaugural festivities just “down the block,” kept some 3,500 people from turning out for a special Martin Luther King Celebration in Wilmington, DE, on January 19.

That’s the day that Delaware Physicians Care, Inc. (DPCI), a We Can!™ partner since April 2008 and Gold Sponsor of the MLK celebration, launched its 2009 “We Can! Make Healthier Choices” obesity awareness campaign. The campaign kicked off with an interactive “Wellness Zone” at the celebration. The Zone provided a variety of interactive health, nutritional, and educational activities for families attending the event.

“It was a great turnout. People loved the fact that it was interactive,” says Kimberly Smalls, DPCI Quality/Prevention and Wellness Coordinator. “Instead of going around to different booths and simply picking up brochures, there was a lot of activity.”

Some of those activities included dancing to local rapper Mike Thompson, who rapped about physical activity, encouraging listeners to “put your hands up!” and getting the kids to get up and move.

There were 16 booths in all, including a stand-alone We Can! booth, each of which encouraged some form of physical activity.

In addition, two compelling public-service announcement posters—one depicting “Killer Sofa”—were launched by DPCI at the event.

DPCI hopes that these images will drive home the awareness of behaviors that may contribute to weight gain and obesity.

We Can! and the We Can! logo are trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).