PHLC Campaign Promotes Clean Living for All Youth

Garrett County’s Play Hard Live Clean (PHLC) Campaign has made it through its introductory year and is ready to welcome the 2018-2019 school students with a new look and a renewed commitment to healthy living.

“We are really excited to kick off Year 2 of the PHLC campaign in the schools!” said Kendra McLaughlin, Director of Health Education and Outreach at the Garrett County Health Department. “This year’s theme will be ’Training a Champion,’ and all kids who complete physical activity, healthy eating, and make other good lifestyle choices have the opportunity to earn gold, silver, and bronze medals.”

The purpose of the PHLC Campaign 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 arrives at age 21 prior to smoking, abusing alcohol, or drugs, they are virtually certain never to do so,” McLaughlin said.

The elementary and middle schools will each kick-off the campaign during whichever month their school selects. The school nurses and physical education teachers are helping to implement the campaign, which encourages physical activity, eating fruits and vegetables, and limiting screen time, and for middle schooler’s, signing a pledge to be drug, alcohol, and tobacco free.

Recruitment will begin in September for high school student participation in their portion of the campaign, which is all online at PlayHardLiveClean.com. Students will sign, or recommit to, a PHLC pledge; receive points for other PHLC activities, and collect points toward prizes and scholarships. In addition, the campaign will include monthly surveys on health topics, with PHLC gear given to one NHS and one SHS winner each month.

“We believe that community involvement is very important, so this year we are reaching out to the community to embrace and support the campaign,” said James Michaels, program coordinator. “Interested groups or individuals are encouraged to visit the Partners section of the PlayHardLiveClean.com website to learn about ways to get involved.”

“Surveys show that most Garrett County youth don’t smoke, drink, or misuse drugs, but some do,” said McLaughlin. “We hope PHLC will help our youth start early with healthy living so they can maintain a drug-free lifestyle as they get older. Last school year each public school participated in the campaign at varying rates, and we are hoping participation will increase this year.”

PHLC is sponsored by Garrett County Drug Free Communities Coalition and administered by the Garrett County Health Department and 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.

By: Diane Lee, GCHD Public Information Officer