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The Litchfield FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) program from Litchfield, Minnesota, has been recognized with the 2017 Healthy Schools, Healthy People, It's a SNAP National Award for their "Healthy Holidays" campaign. The program is a joint initiative of the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to promote handwashing among students.
During the month of October, in anticipation of Halloween, FCCLA high schoolers Carli Christensen, Hannah Schacherer and Meghan Stordahl created a "Germ City" to teach proper handwashing procedures using "SSSRD" as their mnemonic ("Soap, Scrub, Sing, Rinse, and Dry"). In addition to promoting the use of soap and water, the program emphasized proper procedures by illuminating “clean” hands with a blacklight.
Following the success of the initial program, the team created handwashing videos that were themed around Christmas and Valentine’s Day. The videos were shown at schools throughout the city.
Related posters were also placed in the school’s restrooms. The posters provided statistics about the importance of proper handwashing with soap and water. They also used social media to promote their messages about healthy habits to roughly 10,000 people.
To receive the award, the winners earned an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. Once there, they shared what they’ve learned with leaders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Cleaning Institute, cleaning product industry leaders, as well as with their state’s elected representatives on Capitol Hill.
Runners-up honors went to Brickell Academy at Old Donation School from Virginia Beach, Virginia, for their "Expert Germ Stopper Ambassadors" program. A local doctor teamed up with her daughter’s third-grade class to train the ambassadors and implement the program to the four other third-grade classes, totaling one hundred students.
Students from the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter at Medford, Oklahoma High School also earned a runner-up award. "ABC, I'm Germ Free" included story time, handwashing demonstrations and practice for a local Head Start and activities for junior high and high school students.
For more information on the award winners, click here.