CATCH Kids Club is Part of NIH We Can!

We Can! ( Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition) is a national public education outreach program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) designed to help children 8–13 years old stay at a healthy weight through improving food choices, increasing physical activity, and reducing screen time. The program is a collaboration of 4 Institutes of the NIH: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and National Cancer Institute (NCI). We Can! is unique because it provides practical tips and materials to parents and families in home and community settings.

Currently, there are over 135 communities in 34 states around the country that are a part of the We Can! program. Park and recreation departments, hospitals and healthcare professionals, schools, city government, the private sector and other community-based organizations are all collaborating through We Can! to provide science-based information and resources to families in their communities. Over 60 We Can! community events have been coordinated with a reach to over 100,000 people! We Can! partners with national medical, corporate, and family advocacy organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, Action for Healthy Kids, and WalMart.

Community organizations can benefit from using We Can! in the following ways:

* Access to turn-key, and science-based resources for families and youth

* Receive a free Starter Kit of materials

* Discuss programming with existing We Can! sites across the country through the We Can! List-serve

* Receive implementation tips and program updates from NIH through the listserv

* Use national matte release articles, press releases, and get attention from NIH for your local programming

* Participate in regional trainings around the country

* Strengthen partnership development and community outreach through your affiliation with We Can! and NIH

The We Can! program consists of community sites implementing youth and parent curricula as well as community event planning. The parent curriculum is a six-lesson series on improving family nutrition, increasing physical activity, and reducing screen time. CATCH Kid's Club is one of three, science-based youth curricula being implemented by We Can! communities around the country. Media-Smart Youth, developed by the NICHD, and S.M.A.R.T (Student Media Awareness to Reduce Television ) , developed by researchers at Stanford University are two additional youth curricula available through We Can! .

To learn more about the We Can! program, community sites, materials and resources, visit the We Can! Web site at : http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov/ or call us toll free at 1-866-35 WECAN.

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