Community Project

Tiffany Adrians Heather Hartshorn Nicholas Lewis Tiffany Noethen Ryan Prochnow Ashley Tobalsky

A Physical Activity Awareness Program by the Shrunken Avocadoes (Group 1) for elementary school children in Stevens Point, WI.

Table of Contents

Page #

Content

1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Vision and Mission Statement 2.3

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rational

4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Logic Model 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Goals and Objectives 6-8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - External Analysis SWOT 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Budget 10 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Marketing 11- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ghant Chart

Vision Statement: All elementary aged Wisconsin children will learn the importance of physical activity and utilize their knowledge through their life span.

Mission Statement: The mission of operation couch spuds is to promote children’s physical health and well being, through the use of educational and motivational incentives.

A Rationale for “Operation Couch Potato”: A Physical Activity Awareness Program by Group 1 for elementary school children in Stevens Point, WI. Although the average life span of Americans is increasing thanks to modern medicine, we must also be aware of what else is increasing and how that relates to the extra years of life. In the past

fifty years, obesity has been on the rise, most noticeably in children. In fact, the obesity rate in children ages two to nineteen has doubled and even tripled in the last thirty years (IOM, 2005). What does that mean to these children? What does that mean to their extended life span? Increased obesity in children has many serious risks associated with it. A very important, yet often ignored risk is the psychological damage being done. In the American society being overweight is often criticized. This can result in grave psychological damage that also affects academic and social situations for years. Also, are the very surprising physical affects to obese children. One study in obese children ages five to ten, sixty percent had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease (IOM 2005)! Type II Diabetes is also on the rise for children, which in the past had normally affected adults. Other health effects associated with obesity in children include the rise of asthma, hypertension, orthopedic complications, and sleep apnea (AOA, 2005). Even in Wisconsin, the increase in childhood obesity is a problem. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), ten percent of Wisconsin middle and high school children are overweight and fourteen percent are at risk for becoming overweight. That is almost one quarter of middle and high school students who may already be suffering the risks mentioned above! In the Wisconsin study, the CDC also looked at risk factors affecting the obesity rate. Among these factors, which include reduced consumption of fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious food, is the reduced activity level of children. In fact, sixty five percent of the students surveyed did not meet the recommended levels of physical activity. The goal of “Operation Couch Potato” is to address these physical activity levels for children of the Stevens Point, Wisconsin School Systems. The purpose of this is to help and prevent children from ever experiencing the problems associated with obesity. By making these physical health information sessions, physical activity days, and prize promotions a part of their everyday experience at school, physical activity will begin to be a part of their everyday lives. By working with the school system, this program will be able to reach a large amount of children. All too often, there are not enough programs that offer physical activity as part of the curriculum. This program will be one more way in which children can be exposed to physical activity. We hope to help them learn to really enjoy physical activity and to understand why it is important. With increasing amounts of leisure time being spent doing stationary activities, Operation Couch Potato will also help motivate children to be more physically active at home by showing the fun that comes from physical activities. By demonstrating this, children will be more motivated to have more physical leisure time activities. With Americans’ increased life spans comes an increased need to be aware of the quality of their life. All too often, habits that started in childhood can significantly affect the rest of the lifespan. In fact, the habits in childhood can affect health even in childhood! For both reasons, Operation Couch Potatoes is needed to help solve this ever-growing problem.

References “AOA Fact Sheet.” 2005. American Obesity Association. 25 Mar. 2007 http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_youth.shtml “Childhood Obesity in the United States: Facts and Figures.” Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. 2005. Institute of Medicine. 25 Mar. 2007.

http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/22/606/FINALfactsandfigures2.pdf “The Obesity Epidemic and Wisconsin Students.” Healthy Youth. 2005. Center for Disease Control. 25 Mar. 2007. http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/overweight/pdf/Wisconsin. pdf

Inputs

Activities

Outputs

Parents

Collect data; marketing campaign for parents Research; gather data that supports importance of physical activity

Posters & pamphlets in/for schools, P.T.O meetings, school board, parent-teacher conferences

Class Planning Group Portage County children Grades 1-5

Marketing Group School Administration & Principals Parent Teacher Organizations (P.T.O)

Marketing campaign for students and teachers; implemented in school buildings Program for kids to participate in during and after school Incentive program for students to participate Research and present information to P.T.O; facilitate change

School Board

Volunteers Teachers

Dietician Speaker

Pretest & Post-test to assess levels of physical activity in and out of school

PowerPoint presentations to school board at annual and other meetings Projects/program in homeroom classroom of students; lectures Incentive program: -Sign-ups -Logs -Teacher materials -Grade/physical prizes Petition signed by all interested parties; given to school board Surveys given quarterly/seasonal to students to monitor progress & participation

Children realize physical activity is important to a healthy lifestyle Percent of children who participate in program increase in the course of the first year

Along with participation, the amount of exercise increases as supported by pre and post tests & surveys

Parents encourage kids to participate in physical activity

Schools are encouraged to integrate physical activity into the lives of students Provide a program that gives kids an opportunity to monitor levels of physical activity and makes changes accordingly Children see physical activity as rewarding, encouraged by incentive program, and participate more in activities outside of school, as recorded by quarterly surveys

Goals and Objectives Goal A: For elementary students in Portage County to realize the importance of physical activity on a more intense level than before the program. Objective (affective learning): Participants will fill out a survey on how they feel about physical activity and how important they think it is before and after the program. Goal B: To increase the weekly activity of participants. Objective (behavioral): Participants will fill out a daily log aiming for a total of sixty minutes of physical activity a day/five days a week.

External Analysis: SWOT Scanning To best suit the program, scanning should include such information like current levels of physical activity, current allotment given by schools for physical activity in the school day. Opportunities outside of school that are available to the age group we are studying that allow them to actively participate in physical activity. Such things can include sports, hiking events, guided tours, and a plethora of other organized activities. One area that must be scanned, but is harder to do effectively, is people’s opinions regarding the importance of physical activity. Our project relies heavily on stakeholders’ opinions and participation in support of our projects. Another area of scanning that is important is competition. With recent video game creations, there are plenty of distractions and things held in with higher priority than physical activity. We must acknowledge these distractions and obstacles and plan accordingly. To obtain this needed information, surveys will be given to both teachers and parents at parent/teacher conferences and at teaching conventions. A locally sponsored athletic event where the admission is to fill out a survey would also be a good way to promote our cause and to obtain information. Asking administration is the main way that we will gather information regarding current physical activity opportunities during inschool hours. Monitoring The information found during scanning is critical because it helps us to monitor progress during the duration of the program. The amount of time provided by schools during the normal school day for physical education should be monitored often. At least twice a year we will monitor the target schools to verify or determine if our program has caused a change in curriculum. The surveying of kids to gather information about individual exercising habits, we will survey seasonally. We assume behaviors change according to seasons, for example there are winter, spring and fall sports. The best methodology to use to get the information we need is through teachers. Teachers are in contact with both students and faculty daily. Teachers could distribute

surveys in class as an assignment in the beginning of the school year for the summer, during the fall, the winter, and the spring, giving us a good idea of seasonal trends. The school board will have to be contacted to gather information about the current curriculum. Developing a research team is crucial to our program, for most of the work lies in convincing stakeholders we have a valid issue at hand. Forecasting and Assessing Based on some of the information that could be collected and thinking about possible implications it could have on our program, some specific events that may have a direct effect on our program’s success is new video game console releases and the implementation of new standardized tests. New video game consoles would have kids very distracted and most likely render them couch ridden for an extended period of time. Standardized tests place pressure on schools to perform, and they would most likely change their curriculum, cutting out any un-needed “gym” time to make time for preparing students for a test to boost ratings. These implications would have an effect on how we go about marketing our program. With competition such as video games and standardized tests, we have to set apart and emphasize the importance of physical activity. This would change our logic model in the areas of inputs and outputs, with marketing schemes being more focused at overcoming certain obstacles, pitting physical activity and going outside against staying inside and playing the newest Duke Nukem 4d!

Strengths -Physical exercise is a focus that people need to survive, at certain levels -Stevens Point area is very big into wellness programs, offers a lot of support for our program Weaknesses -Hard to change lifestyle & habits of children -Hard to convince people physical activity is just as important as academics

Opportunities -New research supports importance of physical activity -Upcoming athletic events, seasonal sports can be used to promote participation Threats -Competition for children’s time; -busy schedules -video games -Competing interests -new standardized tests call for more dedicated classroom time -parents and school board feel schools are for education not teaching a lifestyle

Budget "OPERATION COUCH POTATO" BUDGET ITEM DESCRIPTION

NUMBER OF PEOPLE/ITEMS

NUMBER OF HOURS

COST PER HOUR / PER PIECE

OUT-OFPOCKET COSTS

6 1 1 1 50

360 360 180 5 60

$17 $17 $14 $20 $6.50

$6,120.00 $2,520.00 $200.00

DONATION (IN-KIND)

TOTAL

LABOR: Planning Committee Program Director Marketing Director Nutrition/Exercise Expert Volunteers

$36,720.00

$19,500.00

$36,720.00 $6,120.00 $2,520.00 $200.00 $19,500.00

$250.00

$500.00

SUPPLIES: General Office Supplies (Paper, Pens, Ink Cartridges, Staplers, etc.) General Printing (Pretest/Postest, Pamphlets, Logs) Ad Printing (Posters, Ads, Banners) Exercise Equipment (Jump Ropes, Frisbees, Balls, Bats, etc.) Prizes (Jump Ropes, Frisbees, Balls, Bats, Gloves, etc.) Food/Snacks (for meetings, activity days, seminars)

$250.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00

$2,000.00 $2,000.00 $1,500.00

300

$5

$1,500.00

2500

$5

$11,500.00

$1,000.00

$12,500.00

$500

$500.00

$1,000.00

VENUE: School Gym (for seminars and meetings) School Classrooms (1-5 per hour, for presentations)

TOTALS: TOTAL COST OF PROJECT:

50

$300.00

$1,500.00

$1,500.00

300

$200.00

$6,000.00

$6,000.00

$65,470.00

$92,060.00

$26,590.00

$92,060.00

Marketing Plan Product: “Operation Couch Potatoes” is a health behavioral program. “Operation Couch Potatoes” is for elementary students in Portage County to realize the importance of physical activity on a more intense level than before the program. The program also strives to have the participants increase their daily physically activity level.

Price: Failure to implement an educational interactive health program carries much higher future health costs than the initial price to begin the program. The hospital cost for type II diabetes, obesity, and heart disease is insurmountable. Much of the money for the program will be spent solely for the children through the incentive program and for the educators to safety teach and promote “Operation Couch Potatoes.” No cost can be placed on a child’s health or knowledge for future generations.

Placement: The product will be placed in all portage county elementary schools. Advertising will be placed in the school as well as distributed to parents though the mail. A seminar will also be held to educate the stakeholders and school administration. The program will take place both before and after school. “Operation Couch Potatoes” will also be placed in an all school assembly.

Promotion: Parents will be informed of the program during parent teacher conferences, and PTO meetings and through the use of brochures and pamphlets in the US mail. “Operation Couch Potatoes” will also be promoted during school hours as part of the daily curriculum. Children will also be expected to explain their progress to their parents and be proud of their record keeping. A qualified marking committee will be hired for proper placement and promotion of “Operation Couch Potatoes.”

Ghant Chart