Hi, my name is Jocie Stamps and I am a member of the YAHL Leadership Team. YAHL stands for Youth Action for Health Leadership. There are two campaigns under the YAHL program, but today I want to talk about Elevate Student Health.

With Elevate Student Health, we try to improve our school wellness policy by making it comprehensive. A comprehensive policy would include healthier food options, access to clean drinking water, and increased physical activity. This campaign has really opened my eyes to the lack of physical activity we get at school and just how dirty our drinking water is. Elevate Student Health has made me realize how unhealthy we are and that it does not have to be that way.  

I have advocated for a comprehensive school wellness policy by talking about Elevate Student Health as well as collecting surveys at my school and outside of school at sporting events. A lot of people have listened and shared their own opinions of how they think we should change student health for the better. The solution is for Elevate Student Health to improve our wellness policy to include everything we need to be successful inside and outside of the classroom.

Others should care about comprehensive school wellness policies because a lot of kids are not as healthy as they can be, and this can affect their future in a negative way. Also, having the ability to choose healthier foods and participating in more physical activities can help not only students at my school but also friends and family who can also benefit from creating healthier habits.

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By: Jocie Stamps, Okay High School