"This is collaboration at it's absolute best," declared Dave Ertl, Counselor at Rush City High School. He was talking about Health Fair '97, which took place at Rush City High School on Tuesday, April 15. The event was a combination of classroom presentations, parent education and health fair all rolled into one action packed day.

Back in 1994, the Community Partnership with Youth and Families awarded some of their federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention grant money to Rush City Schools to get this event started. "We asked recipients of our community prevention funds to commit to carrying on their project after the federal funds were gone," said Tom Koplitz, Executive Director of the Community Partnership. The 1994 Health Fair was so popular and effective that Rush City Schools made a commitment to sponsor the event every three years. The Community Partnership continues to be instrumental in the planning and coordination of this event. We will attempt to share some basic tips and ideas for planning such an event.

Involve youth early

Students were surveyed in the winter as to what topics they were most interested in learning about in the five hours of classroom presentations. A list of 85 possible topics was eventually narrowed down to 35. "In order for this event to be successful, the interests of the students had to be the top priority," stated Koplitz. The Community Partnership accepted the challenge of identifying and confirming presenters on those issues. "We made a commitment to find a presenter on each of the top 35 topics." The Community Partnership also took care of all of the student schedules for the day, based on the priority choices of each student. As a result, presenters were talking with students who had already expressed an interest in that particular topic. Presenters were encouraged to come up with creative titles for presentations in order to draw students into the topic. The responses were quite creative, and included: Can I Live on Twinkies and Mountain Dew?, Joe Camel vs. the Budweiser Frogs, Stepped On By a Step-Parent?, Dump Those Dating Blues, It's Hard to Be Creative When You're Depressed, and Healing Your Heart When Your Parents Divorce.

Start and end with high motivation

The day started out and ended with a presentation by nationally recognized advocate for healthy families, John Crudele. He had 400 students on the edge of their seats with a dynamic presentation that really got the day off to a positive start. In the evening session, Crudele provided parents with an opportunity to learn from his experiences.

Meanwhile, back in the gym

At the same time the classroom presentations were going on, a more traditional community health fair was taking place in the gymnasium with health screenings, exhibits resources and other activities. "The gymnasium activities were open to the public and provided a great connection between school and community," stated Ertl. Tetanus boosters, air flow measurements and testing of blood pressure, glucose, body fat, cholesterol and heart rate were an excellent attraction for community members. Transportation for senior citizens who needed a ride was also provided.

"This event shows young people how many resources are available to them in and around their community. It also shows the community that young people are also very important resources," stated Koplitz. "Thirty-five organizations from this region dedicating a day for young people is a very powerful message to the entire community. We really tried to provide something for everyone, and it was very effective!"

For more detailed information on how to bring an event like this to your school or community, contact Tom Koplitz, CommunityPartnership with Youth and Families, 612-674-4085 or e-mail: cpyf@skypoint.com.