Nonprofits are everywhere. Wherever you are located, it's likely that there are numerous nonprofit organizations at work in your community that you've never even heard of. In 2009, the Hayward (Calif.) Public Library merged with another city department and took on the city's community grants program. They found that in this city of 150,000Â there are over 2,000 nonprofit organizations!Â
Bookish Trailblazers is a monthly outdoor book club dedicated to bringing nature and adventure to patrons. Through the program, we seek to encourage patrons to spend more time outdoors, to appreciate and learn about nature through books, and to exercise.
Have you heard that essential oils or colloidal silver can cure COVID-19? Or that the virus was developed as a bioweapon in a lab? Have you received any messages that “a friend of a friend” has insider information that the nation is going into lockdown?
Pandemic-induced closures of public libraries nationwide are an inconvenience to many, but one group is perhaps affected more than others: people experiencing homelessness.
According to America Walks, “good health is not the only benefit of walking. In fact, there is a broad range of individual and community benefits that accrue when people walk more often and when communities are designed to make walking safe, enjoyable and convenient.” The benefits include safe neighborhoods, healthy communities, social equity, environmental sustainability and even improved economies.
Winterset is a rural community of approximately 5,200 in central Iowa, about 30 miles southwest of Des Moines. Residents can dine at the few eateries in town, but with the abundance of gardens and fresh ingredients available, patrons are often looking for ideas to create their own meals.
The YMCA of the USA is “a leading nonprofit organization for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility” that includes approximately 2,700 local entities that together engage 21 million Americans. They are also the perfect partner for any public library interested in developing health and wellness programs.
There are profound health inequalities for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. In an effort to reduce the health information gap, East Carolina University (ECU) led an outreach program to help future leaders and college students from rural farmworker families access health information.Â
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are 4,360 colleges and the universities in the United States. More likely than not, there is a college or university close to you — and partnering with them is a great way to bring high-quality health and wellness programming to your library.
The library can play a role in promoting healthy exercise and activities by sponsoring outdoor activities and lessons. One such activity my library has chosen to sponsor is skateboarding lessons for teens at our local skate park, simply called Learn to Skateboard.
As long as they are not selling anything or focusing only on promoting themselves, local businesses can be excellent partners for library programs that promote health and wellness.
We have partnered for the past five years with our local hospital, Adena Health System, and several other local organizations to provide a healthy component to our annual summer reading program, Bookworm. Children can work on health challenges as well as reading challenges, earning prizes for both.
Health care systems and hospitals can be the best partners you can have for health programming. Public libraries in the U.S. have worked with hospitals to offer everything from bike safety programs to healthy cooking classes to fun, engaging hand hygiene games.
Each year, one Sunday in late April is National ParkRX Day. This day celebrates the “the growing movement of prescribing parks and nature to patients to improve human health.” National ParkRX Day builds upon the U.S. Surgeon General’s call to promote walking and walkable communities. Americans need to move more, and parks are the perfect place for that.
Public health professionals focus on promoting healthy lifestyles and on protecting and improving the health of families and communities. Nearly every community in the U.S. has a local public health department or some other regional health agency. According to the National Association of County and City Health Officials, there are nearly 3,000 local health departments across the country.
Last month the Bellwood-Antis Public Library, located in a small town in central Pennsylvania, held its 12th annual Family Health and SafetyFair. Several hundred attendees turned out on a Saturday for a Run for Reading 5K, children's Zumba, a demonstration by local firefighters, health screenings and informational booths for health services like organ donation and kidney health.
After staff had an encounter with a possible sex trafficking victim, the San Diego Public Library took action and won a grant that funded the Out of the Shadows program.
Staff acknowledged that disseminating sex trafficking information to raise awareness was essential, as was joining forces with the community and experts to ensure the program’s success and effectiveness.
Since many older adult patrons can't make it to Coventry Public Library's in-house programs, we decided to offer both a senior fitness class and a chair yoga class at the Coventry Housing Authority, which is conveniently located near the senior living center. We run the classes twice a week for six weeks, and the seniors are always begging for more!
