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 Celebra La Vida Con Salud launched its 9th year of operations on September 12, 2009 wi th t he C e lebra community health festival in Atlanta, GA. The health festival tour has made stops in Washing ton, D.C., New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, Houston and is scheduled for visits to, Chicago, and Miami.
This year, Celebra is focusing on health education topics such heart disease awareness, prevention of food borne illness, the impact of Alzheimer’s disease among Hispanics, smoking secession, and prescription assistance programs for the uninsured. Major sponsors of the health festival tour i nclude the Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the Alzheimer’s Association, Pfizer’s Helpful Answers, the National Heart Association, the Legacy Foundation, and the U.S Department of Agriculture.
With support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied N utrition, Celebra is presenting an interactive health exhibit and demonstrations on how to prevent illnesses from contaminated and improperly handled food. The USDA augmented food safety education in Washington, D.C. with information from its Spanish-language campaign, “Todo Cuenta” (Everything Counts When It Comes to Your Family). The American Heart Association joined Celebra this year with its “Go Red For Women” campaign to bring information to Hispanic families on healthy lifestyles that help prevent heart disease. The Alzheimer’s Association is encouraging Hispanics to learn to recognize key signs that could indicate the onset of the disease and seek assistance through local and national resources. In select cities, Walgreen’s is providing health screenings. And Celebra is also working with Pfizer’s Helpful Answers prescription assistance program to help Hispanic families get prescription medications for free or at a savings.
Also supporting the Celebra campaign is the American Legacy Foundation, which is presenting Spanish-language tools that help people stop smoking. In Washington, D.C. the U.S. Administration on Children presented information on programs that support economically disadvantaged Americans.
“There is no inherent reason why Hispanics should suffer such a high incidence of major illnesses,” said Carmen Ramos-Watson, Executive Director of Celebra La Vida Con Salud. “By providing comprehensive, culturally-adapted health information in a festive atmosphere, Celebra provides tangible solutions that help Hispanics live healthier lifes.”
Now in its ninth year, Celebra La Vida Con Salud, is a comprehensive national health education and awareness campaign that effectively reaches the underserved U.S. Hispanic population through its health festival tour, its radio and television health education component, on-line information and on-going community outreach efforts.
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