As summer heats up in Putnam County, the Putnam on Wellness Coalition of Regional Family Resource Network orchestrated an evening of oral hygiene education, outreach and family fun for 1,572 Putnam county attendees on June 15.

Participants lined the sidewalk around the Waves of Fun waterpark in Hurricane as the evening began. The first 300 residents through the door received a coupon for a free $1 snack as additional thanks for attending the event.

Three half-hour oral health presentations were conducted by Oral Health Educator Annette Gaskins, RDH. Each participant that attended a presentation received a free dental hygiene kit and a tie-dyed T-shirt displaying the campaign logo "I Have a Smart Mouth." Additional oral health information and free toothbrushes were provided by Denise Foster and students of the Putnam Career and Technical Center Dental Assisting Program.

Additional information stations were set up in the concession area displaying take-home information on tobacco prevention and cessation, oral health, and teen wellness. The WV National Guard Drug Demand Reduction program was present for the event with their rock climbing wall in effort to promote healthy activity and encourage youth to prevent drug use.

Regional Family Resource Network would like to extend a special thank you to the Putnam County Parks and Recreation and the staff at Waves of Fun for making the event a success. Additional thanks to the organizations that comprise the Putnam on Wellness team:

INSPIRE of Prestera Center

Putnam County Schools Drug Prevention & Education

Putnam County Volunteers

United Way of Central WV Adolescent Health Initiative

Wellness Council of West Virginia

WV Comprehensive Cancer Prevention Program

WV DHHR Putnam District

WV National Guard Drug Demand Reduction

WV Prevention Resource Center

Admission to the event was cost free to all attendants, thanks to funding through Valley Health by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, an organization focused on raising awareness about the importance of oral health. In addition to the Oral Health grant, a Tobacco Prevention grant provided the "Truth and Dare Challenge," an evening event held at each county middle school between Feb. 19 and April 2.

The Truth and Dare Challenge featured student and family prevention activities and take-home prevention materials for students and parents. The Tobacco Prevention grant was provided by The West Virginia Division of Tobacco Prevention Clean Indoor Air Program operating under the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Bureau for Public Health.

Michele Baranaskas, LCSW, is the executive director of Regional Family Resource Network, 1701 5th Ave., Box 18, Charleston WV 25312-1911; 304-414-4470; 304-414-4410 fax; www.regionalfrn.org.

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