We just celebrated with the community at our annual Block Party at the end of June. We set up at Harmon Park right
before the closing ceremony for the Community Olympics. Our partners, First National Bank, Kearney Parks and Recreation, Nebraska Sports Council, Impact Art, CHI Health Wellness Center, Kearney Whitewater Association, Chapman Swifts Coffee House, National Guard, Nebraska Total Care, Nebraska WellCare, and Community Partners Coalitions came to provide activities for kids.
Impact Art, a new community nonprofit, came and taught kids how to spray paint. The kids sprayed onto a big mural that the artist tuned into the word Refresh at the end. Other activities included a bounce house, the bike blender, kids yoga, various yard games, kayaks, and the lemonade stand. The Youth Advisory Board students ran the lemonade stand to raise awareness of our summer campaign to “Refresh Your Community.”
Matt Mims, Campaign Co-Chair, helped with the lemonade stand. Mims said, “We are inviting the community to help us support mental and physical wellness. Community Partners has prioritized these areas to work on this year.”
Our coalitions are implementing plans to prevent suicide and increase our community’s mental wellness. We are engaging parents in a community wide program to grow early childhood development and reduce bullying, violence, alcohol and marijuana use. Other coalitions are focused on physical wellness by engaging worksites in community wellness and researching ways to provide access to more fresh fruits and vegetables.
