The Macksville City Library encourages you to “Choose Well ~ Live Well!” 

Thanks to a grant from the South Central Community Foundation, we were able to offer Drink Think programming to over 200 students at Macksville Grade School. Provided by the Stafford County Children’s Fund, the grant amount was $630, which was used to put on a Maintain Don’t Gain program for adults over the holidays, & this Drink Think program for Pre-K through 8th grades.  The South Central Community Foundation is a regional foundation that manages charitable funds for seven counties in south-central Kansas.

 The mission of our wellness program was to educate students about how to make healthy beverage choices.  Five different stations taught students about the following: Nutrition & the health benefits of water vs. sugary drinks; Dental care and how your drink can affect your teeth; Hydration choices- sports drinks vs. water & milk; a Hydration cup game; and a Tasting station with tasty homemade smoothies & a demonstration about the important role of calcium in your bones.

Each student took home a toothbrush, a brochure about tooth care, smoothie recipes, and a cup with the logo: “Choose Well ~ Live Well.”  Some classes also received activity books, small bottles of water, and cuties.  We learned that foods can  be a source of hydration, & many enjoyed frozen grapes as a new taste treat.

This program was presented over the course of three days.  We could not have had such a successful program without WONDERFUL volunteers:  Becky Filbert (dental care station), Terri Renfro & her Nutrition & Wellness class (taste testing & nutrition stations), Sydney Blanton & Carolyn Dunn from Stafford County EcoDevo (Cup Game station & donated t-shirts), and others filling in a variety of necessary roles: June Miller, Byoung Lee, Debbie Suiter,  & Eileen Loomis.

We are also thankful for GENEROUS donations from the following: Toothbrushes from Dr. Rosenberg DDS, P.A. (St. John, KS), and Dr. Grant D. Ringler, DDS (Hutchinson, Ks), and Toothbrushes & brochures (Sip All Day GET DENTAL DECAY) from the Kansas Dental Association.