Wellness grants being awarded to New Brunswick schools

11/04/2010

The provincial government has awarded $380,094 to 324 schools this fiscal year under a revised initiative known as the School Wellness Grant Program. For the first time, the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport, which administers the program, is also awarding grants to support wellness activities at First Nations schools.

The grants are a great way to involve schools in our wellness programs, said Wellness, Culture and Sport Minister Trevor Holder. The earlier students learn about healthy eating, physical activity, mental fitness and resilience, and the impact of tobacco on their lives, the better. This way, they have a higher chance of having a healthy lifestyle at a young age.

The program provides a single grant to schools to support all their wellness activities. As a result, they have been able to choose a focus area for this academic year (healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco-free living and mental fitness and resilience) based upon their specific needs. Schools choose their focus areas, which are based on school, district and provincial data from a variety of sources, including the New Brunswick Student Wellness Survey.

The program combines funding from several previous programs that focused upon specific areas of wellness promotion (tobacco reduction, vegetable and fruit consumption and physical activity).  

The provincial government awards about $540,000 each year to schools to support wellness promotion activities.