Camrose - Engaging local artists

The Camrose Wellness Coalition created an activity booklet for children, which included healthy images, drawn by local artists.

A member of the Camrose Wellness Coalition suggested finding ways to incorporate arts & culture into their health and wellness initiatives. An idea was sparked to create a children’s colouring book, recognizing that the early years of a child’s life are essential to building healthy habits for life.

The Coalition approached the Camrose Arts Society to engage local artists in creating images of health and wellness. These images demonstrating such things as; physical activity and healthy eating were then forwarded to a local printer to create a children’s colouring book.

 The Coalition used a small community grant to print 5,000 colouring books that are being purposefully shared with community groups that target children. These community groups are being encouraged to engage in discussions about healthy habits with the children who receive the colouring books.

The goal of the project was to find an opportunity in Camrose to link arts & culture to health. The coalition also wanted to provide an opportunity to educate children and their caregivers on healthy eating, active living, positive mental health and wellness in a creative way.

An unintended outcome of this project was that artists from the Camrose Arts Society felt valued, as they were a large contributor to this initiative. The coalition felt this initiative was a success as they were able to broaden their reach, using arts & culture while educating children on what healthy living is all about.

Ways to take action: Community Strategies - Mental Health