Partnership for Participation
The province's sport and recreation organizations united last night at Sydney's Centre 200 to launch the Building Healthier Communities Together campaign.
The program, aimed at communities throughout the province, has a clear message -- time, effort and money must be invested in sport and recreation facilities and programs to physically, socially and economically benefit people and their communities.
"When research reveals only 30 per cent of children in Nova Scotia meet recommended fitness levels, the commission believes that the challenge to reverse this trend can be more effectively met through collaboration," said Robbie Harrison, Minister responsible for the Nova Scotia Sport and Recreation Commission. "By pooling our strengths, our resources and our interests, we can make a difference."
Building Healthier Communities Together is an assortment of graphic and audio materials intended as a tool to help communities and organizations with advertising, educational material and merchandising.
The kit is designed to promote healthy lifestyles and remind the public how important sport and recreation is to our quality of life. It will assist volunteers, media, health care, and sport and recreation professionals, educators, government representatives and business leaders in spreading that message.
"We're delighted to partner with Recreation Nova Scotia and the Sport and Recreation Commission on this initiative," said Scott Logan, executive director of Sport Nova Scotia. "Campaigns such as this help show the benefits of sport to the economy, education, health and youth of this province. By teaming up with Recreation Nova Scotia, we can spread that message through all levels of sport and recreation, as well as to all Nova Scotians. By being proactive we really can build healthier communities."
"Our goals are to motivate more Nova Scotians to participate in sport and recreation, and provide quality opportunities for Nova Scotians," said Dawn Stegen, executive director of Recreation Nova Scotia.
In addition to last night's launch in Sydney, the next regional launch of Building Healthier Communities Together is being held at noon today in Bible Hill at the Village fire Hall, located at 69 Pictou Road. A second launch will occur at 7 p.m. tonight at the Pictou County Sport Hall of Fame, located at 29 Power Plant Road, Trenton.