May 21, 2008 — A video and a calendar promoting healthy lifestyles have earned acclaim for the Department of Human Services, with the video landing a featured spot in a national program and the calendar earning an advertising award.
The National Administration on Aging (AoA) has recognized the department for its Cooking Healthy educational video for senior citizens, according to a news release from Human Services. To promote good health and longevity for seniors, the State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP) produced a video in 2007 about preparing healthy meals, with instruction from C. Letitia Henry of the UVI Cooperate Extension Services and Chef Wallace Phaire, formerly of the Juan Luis Hospital catering services. The video also featured the lifestyle of seniors and their commentary on healthy living.
SPAP submitted the video to the national Administration on Aging to be listed as a Program Champion for 2008, and it will be featured this year in June. From May (Older Americans Month) through July, the AoA annually features agencies that make special efforts in public education and outreach to seniors on their Program Champions list at aoa.gov.
The department also received the Gold Award at the ADDY Awards Ceremony for the V.I. State Nutrition Action Plan (SNAP) 2007 calendar, the release said. The calendar featured recipes, photos of diet and exercise, and captions on healthy eating by DHS Nutritionist Joycelyn Forbes and Elodia Weekly, the Department of Education's state director of Special Nutrition Programs. The colorful and educational calendar was a part of the VISNAP public-outreach effort to combat childhood obesity and encourage healthy dieting in families.
At the 2008 ADDY Awards ceremony, sponsored by the Advertising Club of the V.I., VISNAP members Joycelyn Forbes, Clemecial Van Heyningen, Ermin Boschulte and Elodia Weekly received a Gold Award for the calendar and were complimented by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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