Growing Up Healthy MAM

Growing Up Healthy (GUH) is a student-run educational and outreach program for children within Medical Society, which aims to promote healthy living through interactive sessions. The MAM chapter partners with Peel District School Board elementary schools to provide health education workshops for students in Grades 1-3. We tailor session activities to these specific age groups, encouraging a greater appreciation and understanding of nutrition, physical activity, sun safety, mental health, etc. Throughout the school year, we run in-class workshops led by teams of 2-4 volunteers via coordination with our teachers to deliver lessons in person. We also embedded fun case competitions to reinforce the lessons taught in our class visitations. We collaborate alongside the St. George GUH chapter to build a database of lesson plans for volunteers to draw from.
This year, we also added an adolescent program entitled ""Girls Talk."" This co-segment of GUH MAM specifically focuses on fostering a safe environment for girls Grades 6-7 to learn about/build an understanding of taboo topics surrounding Health and Wellness. We piloted this program via coordination with a Peel Region school to deliver age-appropriate sessions about hygiene, puberty, menstrual cycles, building confidence and the physical, social and emotional changes expected during adolescence.