Back in Action with Play Hard Live Clean

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department

Play Hard, Live Clean (PHLC), a campaign that promotes healthy living for Garrett County public school students and their families, is back in action for its seventh year. The purpose of PHLC is to encourage youth to make good choices by recognizing and rewarding them for certain positive lifestyle accomplishments from kindergarten through graduation.

“The underlying premise of the program is that if a young person reaches the age of 21 without ever smoking, or abusing alcohol or drugs, they are virtually certain never to do so,” said Kendra McLaughlin, member of the PHLC team and Director of Health Education and Outreach, and Dental Services at the Garrett County Health Department.

“Last year 2,014 Garrett County students participated in the campaign in some way, representing 58% of the student body,” reported McLaughlin. “The campaign requires a lot of work and enthusiasm from our staff and school staff to bring it to life. But instilling the value of good choices that will help students stay healthy longer is always worth the effort.”

During the 2022-2023 school year, students in elementary and middle school completed month long challenges related to physical activity, choosing healthy drinks, and mindfulness. Students in high school completed monthly online challenges that included messages about living clean and being substance free. And for the first time, four high school students were hired as “Influencers” to assist the team from the Health Education and Outreach unit of the health department in spreading awareness about PHLC and representing the program in their schools and communities.

For the 2023-2024 school year, the Influencers are back in action and have been doing presentations at after school programs, promoting the program at football and volleyball games, and recording videos to be posted on social media to spread prevention messages. This year’s Influencers are Shelby Mark and Sarah Hamilton-Rumer from Northern High School and Allie Newman and Isabelle Hall from Southern High School.

Coming up in January, all elementary school students will be challenged to go at least ten days without drinking sugar-sweetened drinks or caffeine drinks. Middle school students will be challenged to go at least ten days without any caffeine.

“I like to encourage youth to stick to water or milk as their main drinks,” explained health department dietitian, Amy Ritchie. “The drinks that are popular with kids are generally full of caffeine or sugar which are nothing but empty calories that rob them of valuable nutrients. Those drinks can also stain their teeth, lead to cavities, and drain your wallet!”

Every Garrett County school was invited to apply for a mini grant from the health department to support a Play Hard, Live Clean physical activity challenge of their choosing. Yough Glades Elementary, Southern Middle, Northern High, Broad Ford Elementary, and Accident Elementary all applied and will be awarded between $425 and $750 to support their wellness activities and physical activity challenge.

Finally, the Play Hard, Live Clean team at the health department has created a campaign mascot, Ollie the Otter, to liven up the campaign this year. “We really liked the idea of an otter for a mascot because it represents playfulness, curiosity, and lots of positive energy,” explained PHLC team member and creator of Ollie the Otter, Lori Reichard. Keep watching for images of Ollie in schools and online.

PHLC is sponsored by the Garrett County Health Department with support from the Garrett County Public Schools. For more information about the program call the health department at 301-334-7730, or 301-895-3111, or visit PlayHardLiveClean.com.