Going Green for Wellness at Wesley Matthews Elementary School (Video)

The color of the day at Wesley Matthews Elementary School was most definitely green. But it wasn’t necessarily to celebrate the Luck O’ the Irish on this St. Patrick’s Day. Baptist Health South Florida and United Way of Miami-Dade teamed up to launch the “WM WELL” Initiative at the school – the first designated Healthy Eating Active Living (H.E.A.L.) site in Miami-Dade county.

The initiative is part of a United Way grant awarded to Baptist Health to develop a health and wellness program designed to increase physical activity and interest students, parents, faculty and staff about the benefits of healthy eating.

Students and teachers got in an early workout by walking a half-mile to school dressed as their favorite green vegetable. Once at the school, parents joined in the celebration of wellness with a healthy breakfast and group fitness activities.

(Video: The Baptist Health South Florida News Team was there as students, teachers and parents took a first step in establishing a culture of health and wellness at Wesley Matthews Elementary School.)

The new WM Well initiative takes into account physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social, intellectual, financial and environmental factors in its efforts to reduce the prevalence of toxic stress that wreaks havoc on many aspects of health.