Our Mission:
Educate. Empower.
We are all about healthy eating and active living for MS Gulf Coast children, their families, and the communities in which they live, learn, work, and play!
If we fail to reverse our nation’s obesity epidemic, the current generation of young people may be the first in American history to live sicker and die younger than their parent’s generation. That’s a frightening and unacceptable outcome.
Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
August 2013
What We Do
We envision a Mississippi Gulf Coast where youth and their families achieve optimal health. Let’s Go! Gulf Coast is a childhood obesity prevention program that utilizes evidence-based strategies to promote policy and environmental changes that facilitate healthy eating and active living, while providing education, programming ideas, support, and so much more! We engage participants across the lifespan through diverse and varied platforms to create the greatest and most sustainable impact possible for our youth.
Partner Sites
We use a multi-setting approach to reach youth and families based on the premise that if families are exposed to the same healthy messages through several settings, and if those settings have policies and environments that support healthy choices, they will be more likely to adopt or maintain those behaviors in their daily lives.
Early Child care settings
The early years of childhood – from birth to age 5 – is a critical period for the development of these healthy behaviors that can have a lifelong impact on a child’s quality of life. The child care environment and providers play an important role in helping children in their care develop healthy eating and physical activity habits that will last a lifetime.
after-school programs
After-school programs have a long history of providing safe and healthy places for children to learn and grow. Such programs also serve youth at a time of day when they are more likely to be inactive and consume less healthy foods. That means that with support and assistance, after-school programs can work to address those factors while serving as an important bridge between what children learn at school and what behaviors their parents and caregivers allow at home.
healthcare facilities
Primary care providers and other healthcare professionals are seen as credible sources for health and wellness messages and thus can play a valuable role in promoting Let’s Go! Gulf Coast. The 5-2-1-0 message for healthy lifestyles is a natural fit for such providers and offers an easy means to have a respectful conversation around health and wellness with patients and families.
workplaces
Workplaces reach parents and caregivers where they spend the majority of their day, in an environment that can highly influence and support their behaviors around healthy eating and physical activity. We provide a great starting point for workplaces that are new to wellness promotion and strengthen the efforts of workplaces with existing wellness activities. This makes workplaces an ideal location to support increased physical activity and healthy eating!
schools
Good nutrition and physical activity are key to a child’s growth and development and schools reach children during an important period of development. Children spend the majority of their week days at school and eat one or more meals during that time. Elementary, middle, and high schools are all great settings to begin implementing or expanding health programs and education.
Communities
Communities serve as the unifying force that draws all the other sectors together and maximizes the impact that Let’s Go! Gulf Coast can have on children and their families. Possible community partners include, but are not limited to, local non-profits, civic groups (e.g., Rotary and Kiwanis), libraries, organized community events (e.g., 5Ks, health fairs, community days), faith-based organizations, cities, municipalities, and elected officials.
Our Impact
Through generous donations and grants, we have been able to invest in the health of our children and families along the Mississippi Gulf Coast - which benefits all of us! We have been able to regularly host interactive 6th grade health fairs in Jackson County, create ‘One Mile Walk’ tracks at local hospitals and prominent businesses, hosted six community-based weight-loss programs, encouraged local businesses to freely provide water throughout the work day, assist a local school in implementing a sugary drink ban across their campus, and have partner with the University of Southern Mississippi to conduct a research study with findings now published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at state and national conferences.
95k+
Health promotion items distributed
We have distributed over 95,000 health promotion items throughout our local Gulf Coast communities - including over 10,000 gym bags, 40,000 water bottles, and 1,500 frisbees. This not including the over 71,000 educational handouts that we have also disseminated to our local families.
47k+
youth and families reached
We have had the privilege of interacting with over 47,000 children, youth, adults, and families all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We are able to reach our wonderful community members through community events, hosting educational sessions, leading physical activity breaks,
129+
communiTy events attended
We have attended, hosted, or helped organize over 129 community events. These events allow us to reach our community members directly and there is nothing we love more than being able to work one-on-one with our local youth and their families.
Get Involved
become a partner site
Interested in becoming a partner site of Let’s Go! Gulf Coast? It is easy, free, and has endless benefits! Allow us to assist your organization - whether you are a school, early child care center, after-school program, healthcare facility, or workplace. We are here to help you and make it easy to bring about healthy changes.
join our coalition
There is no better way to address childhood obesity than to join a group of like-minded individuals and organizations working to combat it. Whether you want to volunteer with youth, help organize community events, or assist with fundraising, there’s an opportunity for you! We are a program of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Youth Health Coalition and we would love for you to join us and start making a positive impact for our youth.
Make a Donation
Your donation allows us to continue our amazing work with our local youth and families, while creating and maintaining health-focused partnerships all across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Investing in the health of children and families benefits us all! We could not accomplish our goals without the support of our wonderful sponsors.
Our Proud Sponsors
