$20,000 for area girls' hearts

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PRINCETON — Keeping area girls’ hearts healthy just got a little easier, thanks to a $20,000 grant awarded by the state.

On Sept. 9, Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced that the Bureau/Putnam County Health Department would receive a $20,000 grant for its Heart Smart for Teens program, which is a nine-week nutrition and exercise curriculum geared to school-aged girls. The grant was part of more than $1.2 million in Women’s Health Initiative Grants awarded to non-profit organizations, health departments and service agencies throughout Illinois.

“Learning about good health, especially at an early age, can help us live healthier and longer lives,” Blagojevich said. “Routine health screenings and early detection can sometimes mean the difference between life and death, which is why it is so important to fund programs that teach women — our mothers, sisters and wives — how to take care of their health.”

Locally, the classes are taught by Joy Jaraczewski, health educator for the Bureau/Putnam County Health Department. This year, the fifth year the program has been offered in Bureau County, it begins today, Thursday, at St. Louis School in Princeton. Altogether, about 130 seventh- and eighth-grade girls in eight schools across the county will take part in the program.

In 2006, about 95 girls took part, but last year, more schools called Jaraczewski; she ended up teaching about 130 students.

This year, Jaraczewski wanted to reach that many girls again, so she requested an increase in the $14,000 she received last year.

“If I could do it last year and make it through, I definitely wanted to do it again this year,” she said. “It’s a wonderful program.”

Jaraczewski said the Heart Smart for Teens program is provided free of charge to area schools. The once-a-week class includes a lesson on nutrition, a healthy snack and some type of exercise.

Also, as part of the program, each girl sets personal goals, such as eating better, drinking fewer sweetened beverages, or exercising more each day. To supplement the school program, parents are encouraged to make fitness fun and a priority at home.

“These grants will fund programs that teach women and girls about the health challenges they may face, such as cancer, heart disease, menopause and osteoporosis,” said Dr. Damon T. Arnold, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. “The information these women learn will help them make positive behavioral changes that will help improve their lives and possibly prevent some of these chronic diseases.”