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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – OneWorld Community Health Centers encouraged people Saturday to get up and get moving.
The Get up! Get moving! Back-to-school Bash was held in OneWorld’s parking lot on S. 30th Street. In exchange for learning about health and wellness, people got free backpacks and school supplies.
Brylan is one of the kids that got a free backpack for learning about fire safety from the American Red Cross.
“If you see a fire, get out of your house and stay out,” he said, backpack in hand.
The event was organized by Courtney Spurgeon, the development manager at OneWorld.
“There’s so many things that someone could take away from this event, from learning hands-only CPR to learning calming mental health strategies with pipe cleaners,” Spurgeon said.
And people of all ages participated.
One of the wellness tents were doctors from UNMC’s dermatology department. And with the days getting sunnier and the UV index getting higher, they were teaching important lessons.
“The exposure you have as a kid actually increases your risk of skin cancer later on as adults,” said Dr. Kevin Kwan, a dermatology resident at UNMC. “You don’t realize the repercussions until you’re older. And we’re just out here to spread awareness of it and trying to prevent people from developing skin cancer later on in life.”
Attendees were also offered free health screenings, from vision to diabetes, to HIV. And hundreds of people took advantage of that.
According to the organizer, this was some people’s only opportunity to get those health screenings.
“A large majority of our youth patients are uninsured,” said Spurgeon. “And with being uninsured, they have less opportunities to receive the education. Some of the families that come here today, this is the only day of the year they get any health screening competed. So that’s why this day is so important.”
Alejandro Barrales participated in the health challenge himself and earned two backpacks for his niece and nephew.
The overall message at OneWorld: Start prioritizing your health and wellness at an early age.
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