Health District to Celebrate “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” by Teaching Children About “Making Choices for a Better World”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2008
Contact
Patricia Robinson, Director of Human Resources
(217) 531-4257,
Lori A. Holmes, Public Relations
(217) 531-2927
Health District to Celebrate “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” by Teaching Children About “Making Choices for a Better World”
Kids to Design Public Health Education Campaign, Learn about Caring Professions and how their Everyday Choices Contribute to a Better World
Champaign, IL – April 25 is “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day,” and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) will offer a full day of activities to educate children about Public Health and other “caring professions.” The children will focus on interactions designed to exemplify how their everyday choices contribute to a better world and each will participate in designing a public health education campaign, to be presented to parents and media at the end of the day.
“This is the fourth year we have offered this interactive program for the children of our associates.” said Julie A. Pryde, Acting Public Health Administrator. “Many times we find that the children know what their parents do, but they do not understand the scope of services and assistance that CUPHD offers the community. It is always interesting to see what program each child identifies with and how they translate the information to their everyday activities. This program is truly mutually beneficial to both the children and the CUPHD staff alike.”
Over 30 children, ranging in age from 5-16, will join their dedicated CUPHD parents at work and will participate in this progressive interactive event. The day will begin with breakfast, an “ice-breaker” to help the kids get to know one another, and an overview of public health programs and services. Just before a “business lunch” the group will tour the new CUPHD facilities, and explore the fascinating world of bacteria and germs, including a practical application in dental health.
In the afternoon the children will participate in a Bacteria Fair, where the Petri dish samples they collected the previous month will be displayed and identified by CUPHD staff members. The children will also take the time to talk with various CUPHD staff members about “caring professions,” including jobs in public health. This discussion will introduce the children to different kinds of work – paid, underpaid and unpaid – and will emphasize the intrinsic value that all work has on society and how these choices help create a better world.
The rest of the afternoon will be dedicated to the creation of both individual and team oriented public health education campaigns. Participating children are encouraged to create campaigns about the public health issue that is most important to them. The children will present their ideas and campaigns to parents and the media at the end of the workshop.
The Ms. Foundation for women launched “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” 16 years ago in 1993, to allow parents to share their work lives with their children, specifically with their daughters, and to stimulate discussion about the challenges of finding meaningful work while also dedicating time to address the needs of both family and community.
Nearly 14 million employed parents are gearing up to bring their children to thousands of workplaces across the country. An estimated 10 million girls and 6 million boys will learn about traditional and non-traditional employment in government, nonprofit and forprofit workplaces.
For more information on CUPHD’s “Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day”, please contact Patricia Robinson, Director of Human Resources, (217) 531-4257.
For more information on other CUPHD programs and services, please contact CUPHD at (217) 352-7961 or visit CUPHD on the web at www.c-uphd.org.
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