Young Wilkes leaders act as peer health educators

Youth Leadership Wilkes members at the health fair included: (front, l-r) Thomas Booker, Beunka Stephens, Chantelle Huff, Melecia Cullars; (rear) Trey Berry, Akeimos Coleman, and Rodney Bowling.

Youth Leadership Wilkes members focused their peers' attention on health for a day last week as they led a Health Fair at Washington- Wilkes Comprehensive High School.

The health fair, sponsored by the Community Parnership with a Rural Health Outreach grant, gave the young leaders opportunities to act as peer educators drawing attention to health issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, obesity, wellness, abstention and early parenthood. Screenings were available for a number of conditions.

"As leaders, we feel we have to be involved with our peers," said Ashley Kearney, "and help them realize that they can do things that affect their health, both good and bad."

"Even with these sex displays, telling how STDs are spread," said Akeimos Coleman, "we have to talk to them, peer-to-peer, to help them know what's going on."

The school gym was filled with testing sites and displays from Wills Memorial Hospital, Wilkes Eye Center, the Health Occupation Abstinence Youth Council, Wilkes Emergency Medical Service, East Central Health District, Wilkes County School Nutrition, DFACS, Wilkes Extension Service, and ORBIT.

One popular display was school nutrition director Rebecca Davis' GlitterBug, which showed students how many germs remained on their hands after washing. "That's disgusting," one student said. "I gotta wash my hands."

Participating Youth Leadership Wilkes members included Kearney, Coleman, Thomas Booker, Beunka Stephens, Chantelle Huff, Melecia Cullars, Trey Berry, Rodney Bowling, Tiffany Bowling, Michael Edwards, Michael Wilder, Hunter Jackson, and Jasmine Jones.

The event was coordinated by Dorothy Jordan.

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