Marietta, OK: December 2, 2020 -- HealthCorps, a national non-profit committed to eliminating health inequity in at-risk communities by educating and empowering students by giving them tools to improve their physical and mental health, is pleased to announce it has partnered with Kinsa to provide health-saving school supplies to vulnerable students in Oklahoma through its #SaveTheStudents campaign. Distribution of the supplies begins in Marietta, OK on December 2nd.
“Attending school looks different for students, families, and teachers this year. HealthCorps is ready to welcome them — in person AND virtually – but most importantly safely. The #SaveTheStudents campaign is an opportunity for our supporters to give back directly to our students to ensure they remain safe and healthy as they head to the classroom – in whatever form that may take,” said HealthCorps President and CEO Amy Braun.
“As superintendent the health and wellbeing of our Marietta students, our staff, our faculty and their families is my top concern as we head into the winter months, said Brandi Naylor, Superintendent of Marietta Public Schools. “These tools from our partner, HealthCorps, will ensure that our school community can not only monitor their health, but continue to practice behaviors that will allow them to remain healthy in the coming months.”
Through the campaign, each $50 donation will be MATCHED, allowing HealthCorps and Kinsa to provide TWO “Safe Student Kits” to TWO students in need at participating HealthCorps schools.
Each package includes:
• A Kinsa smart thermometer
• Four (4) reusable masks
• HealthCorps Program Resources
• Access to a school-wide program to monitor symptoms and protect from outbreak
“In the wake of COVID-19, early detection and response to illness is key to keeping students healthy and safe, and minimizing transmission to the broader community. By giving students Kinsa smart thermometers, which connect to a mobile application, our program will allow schools and families to monitor for potential outbreaks early and take immediate action help prevent the spread of illness,” said Kinsa founder and CEO Inder Singh. “Our user-friendly app prompts daily fever and symptom screenings to ensure only healthy students go to school. If a fever or symptom is present, families are reminded to stay home and are guided to seek appropriate care and treatment to get better faster.”
The campaign hopes to distribute 10,000 health-saving kits to high-need schools across the nation. Distribution will begin in schools located in Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas. “We are excited to work with Kinsa to provide these critical tools for student health. Due to school budget cuts and widespread unemployment, certain tools like thermometers and reusable facemasks may not be available to families in our communities, a health and educational inequity HealthCorps and Kinsa cannot stand for,” Braun explains.
HealthCorps’ popular and well-utilized digital resources are designed by experts to help students, parents and faculty give teens the tools to improve their physical and mental health. With over 1.7 million views already, this catalog of resources is continuously updated with fresh content. Now families will be able to receive HealthCorps’ health and wellness resources and information through their FLUency app, providing them with frequent tips on staying healthy.
Nationally, HealthCorps maintains a network of schools called Living Labs. A full-time “Coordinator” is embedded in high-needs schools to mentor hundreds of students, teach health related workshops, and promote a variety of during and after school activities. Coordinators are recent college graduates who go on to careers in medicine, public health policy or wellness practices. Coordinators and their students participate in ongoing research to continually improve the HealthCorps curriculum and provide insight into how to improve young lives.
About HealthCorps
Since its founding in 2003, HealthCorps, a national 501c3, has addressed health inequities in at-risk communities by educating and empowering teens – encouraging them to become change agents within their family, their school and their neighborhood. Through its curriculum and programming, HealthCorps, strives to strengthen those teens with the most innovative approaches to health and wellness, providing today’s youth with the tools to become more resilient, both mentally and physically. HealthCorps in Oklahoma is supported by The Chickasaw Nation. HealthCorps programs in Houston, Texas are supported by the Holthouse Foundation for Kids. Phoenix, Arizona programs are supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.
About Kinsa
Kinsa’s mission is to help individuals and communities stop the spread of infectious illness through early detection and early response. To achieve this mission, Kinsa has built a communication network that connects nearly three million users with a free app, email alerts, and the first device used when illness is suspected -- a thermometer. Kinsa studies the unique features of an illness and incorporates what’s circulating nearby to offer personalized guidance from symptom onset through recovery. By analyzing geographic illness trends, Kinsa quickly identifies at-risk areas and mobilizes the organizations that can help stop the spread. www.kinsahealth.com.