KETC/Channel 9 recently received a 2007 Outstanding Partnership Award from the Missouri Head Start Association. The award recognized KETC for its joint effort with Grace Hill Head Start in St. Louis on the campaign “It Only Takes One Step to a Healthy Mind, Body and Soul.” The project, headed by Dale Berenc, KETC Manager of Education Services, works with Grace Hill’s child-care providers to teach good health habits.

“We are so pleased with the impact that this project is having with childcare providers, children and their parents. KETC is committed to creating quality partnerships that create learning opportunities that help children and their caregivers. This recognition is a testament to the value of quality partnerships,” said Amy Shaw, KETC’s Vice President of Education.

The goal of the project is to increase the child-care providers’ awareness of healthy lifestyles so that these positive behaviors can be modeled for the children they teach, and to the children’s parents. Every month, 120 participating child-care providers attend instructional sessions where they learn from mental health workers, fitness specialists, nutritionists, representatives from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, and other speakers. Topics covered include making good food choices, reading nutrition labels and walking to increase their fitness level.

In separate monthly visits to each of the seven Head Start centers, Channel 9 staff provide healthy breakfasts and snacks. They also encourage women to participate in a second aspect of the project: a walking club. Using pedometers supplied by KETC, each participant has a personal goal to increase the number of daily steps she or he walks.