Each year, members of HOSA competing in the Community Awareness event collaborate on community health initiatives aimed at improving mental and physical health to create a lasting impact. This year, there are a variety of projects, including awareness campaigns about children’s obesity, mental health, eating disorders and much more. At a time when mental health is decreasing and obesity is increasing, these missions are extremely relevant to our current society.
One group, MHS Children’s Obesity Awareness, is led by Middleton High School (MHS) juniors working to increase awareness surrounding children’s obesity.
Their goal is to launch an initiative to redefine how obesity is measured, looking to replace specific systems like the Body Mass Index system to increase their reliability as health indicators.
“This project focuses on educating the community, raising awareness, and advocating for long-term changes in how hospitals assess weight and health,” said MHS junior Taym Allawi, one of the students launching the initiative.
MHS Children’s Obesity Awareness is already planning to take real action to create change. They are looking to host a bake sale that would donate all funds to Wheels for Wishes, are coordinating a 5k, and they have a social media following where they provide facts and tips about weight loss and children’s obesity.
When asked about how they plan to interact with the community in the near future, Allawi explained that the group is about to introduce a new campaign to diversify the indicators that show obesity in hospitals. Their hope is that by creating a constant healthy weight, hospitals can catch obesity before it happens and provide aid to families and children.
Another HOSA project this year is led by a group of MHS juniors: Strong Body Strong Minds,. They are working to bring awareness to eating disorders and mental health.
“The way we speak about ourselves and others can either reinforce harmful beliefs or foster a supportive environment,” said Lucy Paler, who is part of the project. Strong Body Strong Minds aims to educate the community through compassionate, informed responses that provide support to individuals experiencing eating and mental health disorders.
Their main method of community engagement is through their social media campaign, where they use different mediums to share information about risk factors, warning signs, and supportive communication strategies. They are working towards more school based outreach and peer to peer discussion.
Strong Bodies String Minds is hopeful that their project will create a lasting impact, making conversations surrounding eating disorders more common, accurate, and empathetic.
When asked about the permanence of Strong Bodies Strong Minds, Paler responded that their long-term goal is to make information and tools more sustainable, extending the effect of their campaign beyond the competition.
If you are passionate about an issue and looking for a way to create a change in your community, HOSA is a great way to find others with the same goal. Many impactful community service initiatives began with HOSA, and there are many more to come.
