Iowa Healthiest State Initiative

There was a lot of laughing, learning, and…massages to be had at this year’s 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count! Summit yesterday! Thank you to everyone who spent the day with us learning how to make the healthy choice the easy choice where we live, work, and play. 💪 A special thanks to our sponsors, exhibitors, and incredible speakers for making the day possible. We can’t wait to see you in 2025 for a new year of HSI events.💚 #healthychoicescount #healthieststatemonth

The Iowa Healthiest State Initiative is thrilled to partner with the Iowa Wolves for the ‘Pack Has Your Back’ game highlighting mental health. Players will wear special edition Make It OK Wolves jerseys created by local artist van holmgren, with jersey auctions pregame and a portion of ticket sales at the link below going to HSI to support our ongoing work across Iowa. 🐺 💚 Join us on Friday, November 22 at 6:30pm to cheer on the Wolves, and highlight mental health in Iowa! #MakeItOKIowa #mentalhealthmatters #Gleague #IowaWolves https://lnkd.in/gQMtt4TT

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Doug Reichardt, a visionary leader, philanthropist, and co-founder of the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative. Doug's commitment to improving the health and well-being of Iowans has left a lasting legacy that will continue to guide our work for years to come. His passion for creating a healthier, happier Iowa inspired many of us. Doug’s dedication to his community and his unwavering belief in the power of collaboration made a difference in countless lives. We will miss his leadership, kindness, and the impact he made on everyone who had the privilege to know him. Our thoughts and condolences go out to Doug's family and loved ones during this difficult time. We are grateful for his vision and the foundation he built to help make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation. Rest in peace, Doug. Your legacy lives on through the work you started and the lives you touched.

Melissa Clarke-Wharff, Co-Founder, Can Play is one of our incredible speakers for the 5-2-1-0 #HealthyChoicesCount! Summit on October 23! Her keynote 'Unlocking Potential: Where Play Knows No Bounds' will cover the transformative power of adapted and inclusive play, and the importance of inclusive environments in schools and communities. 💪 Check out the full speaker lineup for next week's Summit and join us in Ankeny by registering below! https://lnkd.in/gbU7JdsB

Learn more about reducing stigma and supporting mental health in the workplace at our virtual Make It OK Presentation this Thursday at 11AM! 💚 We'll give you tools and strategies to encourage open conversations and promote understanding among colleagues, friends, and family living with a mental illness. The presentation is free to attend but registration is required! #MakeItOKIowa https://bit.ly/3NmQEwA

📢 Join me on October 17th to learn simple ways to break the stigma surrounding mental illness. The Iowa Healthiest State Initiative Make It OK campaign provides simple tools and strategies to encourage open conversations and promote understanding among colleagues, friends, and family living with a mental illness. It's free to attend but registration is required. #WorldMentalHealthDay #MakeItOKIowa #HealthiestState #StopStigma

Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay and this year's theme is 'Mental Health at Work'! 💚👷♀️ Safe, healthy working environments can act as a protective factor for mental health. Unhealthy conditions including stigma, discrimination, and exposure to risks like harassment and other poor working conditions, can pose significant risks, affecting mental health, overall quality of life and consequently participation or productivity at work. With 60% of the global population in work, urgent action is needed to ensure work prevents risks to mental health and protects and supports mental health at work. To take the first step, join us on October 17th for a free virtual Make It OK Presentation and bring #MakeItOKIowa to your workplace. Sign up below! 👇 https://bit.ly/3NmQEwA

Should schools be phone free? 📱🚫 Rob Randazzo, Associate Principal at Hoover High School will be speaking on the movement for phone free schools at the 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count! Summit! Join us on October 23rd at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny to hear from Rob and the rest of our amazing speaker lineup. Learn more and register below. #healthychoicescount https://lnkd.in/gbU7JdsB

September was jam packed for HSI! From the Obesity Roundtable, to Capitol Hill visits in Washington D.C. and getting out in the community for #makeitokiowa and #backtheblackiowa, our team was everywhere! Check out our September Momentum blog to see everything we were up to last month. 💚 https://lnkd.in/gEFazGZv

A massive thank you from our team to everyone who walked with us this week for the Healthiest State Annual Walk presented by Delta Dental of Iowa!💚 It was incredible to see so many posts from people showing off how they made walk day fun in their schools, workplaces, and communities! This year... 🥳 We had a walk registered in all 99 counties in Iowa! 💪 Miss. Lacy’s Preschool (Toledo) and Loving Hands Early Care & Education (Lamb’s Grove) won the Active Early Care Challenge. 🥇IKM-Manning Schools (IKM-Manning Middle School) won the School Mascot Challenge by a margin of 158 votes! 💵 You helped raise $7,130 for HSI to help us continue our work of ensuring every Iowan has the opportunity to live their healthiest life. We grabbed some of the pics and videos we took at walks we visited, and from your social media posts, and added them to the album linked below! Thank you again for your amazing support, stay tuned for information about 2025! #WhyIWalk #HSIWalk2024 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gfpnPd-t