Quoting Betty Knighton, West Virginia Center for Civic Life, Phone:
304-344-3430, [log in to unmask] 

Dear Colleagues--

I would like to invite you to become involved in a statewide initiative
designed to improve the nutrition and physical activity of our state’s
children.  In the past several months, the West Virginia Center for
Civic Life, the West Virginia Office of Healthy Lifestyles, and many
other partners have been working to help communities convene public
discussions on how West Virginians can address the rising rate of
obesity among our state’s children.  

We hope you will join us as we continue our work this fall.  We are
providing -- at no charge -- moderator training for those who would like
to lead or sponsor a community discussion on this issue as well as
materials to use in your forums: discussion guides, a brief video
(conversation starter), moderator's guide and questionnaires.  All of
these materials have been developed with input from citizens across the
state who have shared their concerns with us.

In the forums, participants will examine the project's focus:  Weighing
the Options: How Can We Encourage Healthy Weights Among West Virginia's
Youth?  The se forums will bring together citizens from all sectors of
the community - parents, youth, educators, health care providers,
business leaders, policymakers and community leaders - to discuss steps
toward healthier lifestyles for children, to consider directions for
public policy, and to make plans for how they can address the issue in
their own families and communities. 

Here's how you can become involved:

Tuesday, September 16  10:00 to 4:00  Moderator Training University of
Charleston
If you or someone you know would like to lead a community discussion,
please join us for a one-day training event in Charleston where you will
hone your skills as neutral moderator of a community forum on childhood
obesity.  We think this training will be very useful as you prepare to
lead a discussion on this issue, as well as on other issues that arise
in your community in the future. The training is free, and lunch will be
provided.  The only "fee" for attending is the commitment to organize or
moderate a forum this fall.  Let us know by return email or by phone if
you would like to come.

September through mid-November, 2008
Convene and/or moderate a discussion in your community, school, or
organization.  We hope there will be many, many forums in locations
throughout the state during this period, but we need your help to make
it happen, of course.  Forums can be fairly small and intimate.  You
don't have to gather a huge group to have a helpful, productive
discussion!

January, 2009
We will collect public input from the forums throughout the state and
create a report that you can use in your community for planning further
work together.  We will also provide the report to policymakers,
educators, professional organizations, and the general public.

We hope that the conversations begun in these community settings will
lead to important work that will benefit all of our state's children. 
And we especially hope that you will be a part of it.  If you know of
others who would like to be involved, please spread the word.  I'm
attaching a flyer about the project, or you can just forward this
email.

Betty Knighton
West Virginia Center for Civic Life
Phone: 304-344-3430
[log in to unmask]