Celebrate Families sponsored by the Edgar County Public Health Department was a runaway success filled with three hours of fun, giveaways, snacks, free dental exams, live demonstration and community program exhibits.

Held May 15 at Betty Jane's Kitchen, community organizations including the Birth to Five Illinois Program, Brighter Beginnings, HRC and Sage and Prim set up booths and joined the ECPHD in sharing information regarding the services available to local families with displays about the harm of e-cigarettes, the importance of proper car-seat installation and lead testing in homes.

Lexanna Kocher, a public health educator at the ECPHD, shared the message of her exhibit teaching children about self-esteem and how to maintain confidence in themselves as she invited visitors to play a game tossing bean bags with her.

“We just want to teach kids to be kind to themselves and to others,” said Kocher. “Bullying is a real problem that we want to stand up against by instilling confidence into children.”  

Children and adults alike were invited into several other exhibits to get their hands dirty while planting their own green beans with the Bell Well Coalition, digging in a rice filled sensory bin for prizes with the Paris Carnegie Library, testing multiple flavors of smoothies at the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) booth, viewing mosquitos under magnifying glasses with environmental health specialists and collecting fresh fruits and vegetables at a produce market.

“It has been an honor and a joy to meet people in the community and share produce with them,” said Heather Briggs, Community Relations Coordinator for Blue Cross Blue Shield.

The health insurance company sponsored the free produce market stocked with fresh vegetables and fruits from Chicago as a part of its on-going partnership with the ECPHD.

ECPHD Administrator Monica Dunn spent her evening drawing names and handing out prizes.

“Our community has been so generous,” Dunn said, noting the dozens of prizes all donated by local businesses. “The businesses in Edgar County truly wish to show local families that they are important to our community and have been our partners in so many ways.”

The prizes donated by more than 20 community partners included magic bullets, water bottles, gift certificates, board games, art supplies and a grand prize food basket from the health department’s WIC program.

Winner of a gift certificate to D-I Supply, five-year-old Elizabeth was accompanied by her mother Robin Garvin, who shared her elation over the multiple items they were taking home.

“We have joined a reading challenge with the library, learned about keeping our home prepared for emergencies and tried new foods,” said Garvin. “We cannot wait to share everything we are learning with our friends and family.”

Several other families present for the event shared the same sentiment as they headed home with bags full of fresh produce, pamphlets and multiple prizes. The event educated, equipped and celebrated the families growing inside of Edgar County.