Community Wellness Day Set For Oct. 15

Need some motivation to get healthy?

Then head over to for Community Wellness Day on Oct. 15 from 12 to 3 p.m. and get your fill of nutritious food, fun entertainment and expert advice about healthy living, personal safety and financial well being.

Community Wellness Day is a free event being held in cities across the nation this fall to expose residents to local wellness services that can help them stay healthy and safe. Now in its second year in Newtown, it will once again be run by Wellness Solution Centers.

“This will be a fun way for the community to come together and focus on positive things,” said Jill Donohue, Community Wellness Day coordinator. “Health and wellness is so integral to happiness -- it‘s hard to be successful in any area if you don’t have your health.”

Free services include (but are not limited to) car seat safety checks, computerized health assessments and screenings for blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol. Educational resources will be provided by groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, AARP, NY Life and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

“We wanted to provide resources for people to learn what they can do to get their families healthy,” Donohue said. “The way to help our future is to help our kids. If we can support that as a community and have fun and learn while we’re doing it, so much the better.”

To that end, there will be samples of healthy foods from local restaurants like Jules Thin Crust, which offers local organic ingredients. Also look for free massage stations, Zumba classes, skin care and weight loss programs.

To help get people moving, there will be dance demonstrations and live music. And what’s a fall family event without the requisite face painting, pumpkin painting, Wii competitions and a moon bounce?

The Newtown event has attracted the attention of State Representative Steve Santarsiero, who will issue both a proclamation for Community Wellness Day and citations from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to the recipients of the Community Champion Award (to be announced at the event).

"While many aspects of our complex health care system continue to provoke hot debate, one thing we can all agree on is that wellness and healthy lifestyles begin with education and personal awareness," Santarsiero said. "We also know that a healthy community is one which works together to keep our environment clean, our schools strong and our neighborhoods safe. Events like this bring our community together to share important information to keep ourselves, our families and our community healthy."

Santarsiero also donated a prize for the Community Wellness Day raffle: a trip to Harrisburg, which includes a tour of the State House. Other raffle prizes will include Trenton Thunder baseball tickets and gift cards to the Green Parrot, Marisa Boutique and Metro. According to Donohue, there’s still time for other local business owners to get involved, too.

All proceeds from the raffle will benefit the Kelly Anne Dolan Memorial Fund, a non-medical resource center that provides advocacy, education, and financial assistance to families in the tri-state area who are caring for seriously ill, disabled or injured children. 

Community Wellness Day will also have an impact on folks around the world through the collection of used bicycles that will be shipped to families in developing countries by Pedals for Progress, another non-profit charitable agency.