A Rolling Front of We Can!® Media Coverage in Coastal Georgia

Posted October 5‚ 2010

A rolling series of news stories about We Can!-related activities in coastal Georgia have been pumping up the excitement for the program.

From May until June, the Coastal Courier carried four stories connected to We Can!. The newspaper is based in Hinesville, Georgia, southwest of Savannah, and serves communities across Liberty County and around the nearby Fort Stewart military base.

The top story focused on the unique collaboration among the city of Hinesville, Liberty County, and Fort Stewart that is bringing We Can! programming to area residents through the county's public health
department.

In the article, Health Department Administrator Deidre Howell reported that the first step was to create and implement a community wellness calendar to alert residents to the We Can! activities that would be available to them through agencies such as the YMCA, Liberty County Recreation Department, and Children and Youth Services on Fort Stewart.

"The plan is not to create [new programs]. We feel generally there's enough going on, but not everybody knows what's going on, where it is, or how much it costs," said Howell. "We Can! has specific curricula and those can be infused into existing local programs. We're trying to get as many youth service agencies involved as possible."

Hinesville/Liberty County/Fort Stewart join a growing group of 27 other We Can! Cities and Counties nationwide, and an inspiring number of We Can! programs along Georgia's coast.

"Our district We Can! efforts have exploded largely due to the committed communities who saw a need and reached out for an answer," said Christina Bolton, Adolescent Health & Youth Development Coordinator with the Coastal Health District in Savannah, a We Can! site since June 2009. "I think this is a true testament as to how effective a program can be with a little community support and without requiring significant funding."

News of We Can! in the publication's print and online editions can potentially be read by the county's more than 58,000 residents; Fort Stewart's 16,000 soldiers and families; and the 14,000 or so unique visitors to the paper's Web site every week.

And that's all good news when it comes to helping grow participation in, awareness of, and support for We Can! across the Peach State and beyond.

Stay tuned to future newsletters for "breaking news" of the Liberty County Health Department's success with our program. For a look at all We Can!-related stories in the Coastal Courier, visit www.coastalcourier.com and enter We Can! in the search box.