Hopewell, VA (February 24, 2023) – Hopewell City Public Schools has partnered with the Rev Your Bev campaign, an obesity prevention initiative of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY), to encourage its school community to drink more water during the school day and recognize the academic and health benefits of making this choice. Hopewell City Public Schools values the health and well-being of its students and staff, and for this reason, updated its wellness policy in August 2022 with comprehensive language that increases water access and promotion to align with Rev Your Bev’s best practices. The updated wellness policy recognizes water as an essential nutrient and ensures that students not only have access to water during the school day but before and after school as well.

To celebrate its updated School Wellness Policy and the continued healthy learning environment it provides its students and staff, Hopewell City Public Schools hosted a celebratory event on February 23, 2023. During the event, students, teachers, and staff participated in fun water-related activities and wrote Thank You messages, thanking Hopewell City Public Schools for their efforts to promote healthy hydration and empower their school community to make drinking water a habit. Students like Anita Hall at Hopewell High School are appreciative and shared, “I want to acknowledge and thank our school division for updating its wellness policy. It’s important to prioritize our growing youth and ensure that they have water accessibility.” The Rev Your Bev campaign also donated and distributed 1000 water bottles to support the division in implementing its policy, and provided water promotion posters and dispensers.

Hopewell City Public Schools is excited about its updated wellness policy and the extraordinary steps they are taking to increase water consumption and ensure all students have an opportunity to be healthy and successful. Division Manager of Food Services, Susan Jacobs, noted, “Water is an essential element to the body. Young people should be educated about the healthy impact that drinking water has on their mental and physical capabilities. Providing fresh water helps students give their bodies the adequate nutritional elements they need to focus and learn.”

With Hopewell City Public Schools partnering with Rev Your Bev and joining the growing list of divisions with comprehensive wellness policies that place an emphasis on water access and promotion, more Virginia students now have more access to water throughout the school day.

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About the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY)

Established in 1999 by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth empowers Virginia’s youth to make healthy choices by reducing and preventing youth tobacco and nicotine use, substance use, and childhood obesity.

VFHY takes a comprehensive approach to prevention work that includes reaching about 50,000 children each year through classroom-based prevention programs in public schools, after-school programs, community centers, daycares, and prevention programs across the state. VFHY’s award-winning marketing campaigns deliver prevention messaging to more than 500,000 children annually. In addition, VFHY’s research program provides scientific insight into methods to effectively reduce tobacco use. Since 2002, VFHY has funded 40 large research projects at universities throughout Virginia. For more information, visit www.vfhy.org.

Bowling Green, VA (February 23, 2023) – Caroline County Public Schools has partnered with the Rev Your Bev campaign, an obesity prevention initiative of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY), to encourage its school community to drink more water during the school day and recognize the academic and health benefits of making this choice. Caroline County Public Schools values the health and well-being of its students and staff, and for this reason, updated its school wellness policy in December 2022 with comprehensive language that increases water access and promotion to align with Rev Your Bev’s best practices. The updated wellness policy recognizes water as an essential nutrient and ensures that students not only have access to water during the school day but before and after school as well. 

To celebrate its updated School Wellness Policy and the continued healthy learning environment it provides its students and staff, Caroline County Public Schools hosted a celebratory event yesterday, February 22, 2023. During the event, students and staff participated in fun water-related activities and wrote Thank You messages, thanking Caroline County Public Schools for their efforts to promote healthy hydration and empower their school community to make drinking water a habit. Students like Anthony Lanning at Caroline High School are appreciative, sharing “I would like to thank the school board and all of the people involved in updating the wellness policy that I and Y Street advocated for. I would love to share that thanks to this wellness policy update we are now going to be able to have better access and awareness of the benefits of drinking water and how it can help with your health”. The Rev Your Bev campaign also donated and distributed 4,218 water bottles to support the division in implementing its policy.

Caroline County Public Schools is excited about its updated wellness policy and the extraordinary steps they are taking to increase water consumption and ensure all students have an opportunity to be healthy and successful. Mr. Jeff Wick, Coordinator of Safety and Compliance shared that, “CCPS recognizes the importance of drinking water for hydration as well as student and staff health, and we are honored to partner with Y-Street to not only promote the benefits of drinking water to all of our K-12 students but also to provide them with a valuable resource to do so via its Rev Your Bev campaign.  This is a valuable partnership that we look forward to continuing for many years.”

With Caroline County Public Schools partnering with Rev Your Bev and joining the growing list of divisions with comprehensive wellness policies that place an emphasis on water access and promotion, more Virginia students now have more access to water throughout the school day.

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About the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY)

Established in 1999 by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth empowers Virginia’s youth to make healthy choices by reducing and preventing youth tobacco and nicotine use, substance use, and childhood obesity.

VFHY takes a comprehensive approach to prevention work that includes reaching about 50,000 children each year through classroom-based prevention programs in public schools, after-school programs, community centers, daycares, and prevention programs across the state. VFHY’s award-winning marketing campaigns deliver prevention messaging to more than 500,000 children annually. In addition, VFHY’s research program provides scientific insight into methods to effectively reduce tobacco use. Since 2002, VFHY has funded 40 large research projects at universities throughout Virginia. For more information, visit www.vfhy.org.

Fauquier County, VA. – On January 20, Fauquier County Parks and Recreation made the decision to recommit to establishing its parklands as tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free by reinforcing its existing parks rules that prohibit tobacco use within 50 feet of sporting events, spectators, or gathering in outside parks. Parks and outdoor recreational areas are dedicated spaces within our communities that provide youth, adults, and families a space to be active, relax, and gather outdoors. With Fauquier County Parks & Recreation’s tobacco-free outdoor policies, everyone of all ages can now do this in cleaner and healthier outdoor areas.

The commitment was initiated by Y Street, Virginia’s largest youth-led movement and a program of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth. Y Street youth members strive to make sure Virginians have equitable access to clean and healthier outdoor environments through its campaign, Share The Air. Share The Air aims to create 100% tobacco-free parklands by encouraging local park and recreation departments and local government officials to adopt comprehensive tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor policies and support them in doing so by providing free resources such as tobacco-free signage.

In 2021, the Director of the Fauquier County Parks and Recreation Department, Gary Rzepecki, met with Y Street members from Fauquier High School to discuss their existing park rules surrounding tobacco use and how they can make an even greater difference by partnering with the Share The Air campaign. On January 20, 2023, the Park Director confirmed their commitment to the campaign and creating 100% tobacco-free outdoor public spaces by signing a commitment form. Fauquier County is proud to partner with Share The Air with Mr. Rzepecki noting that “having tobacco-free spaces in Fauquier County Parks fits our mission of providing spaces for mental and physical health and wellness activities. Partnering with the Share The Air campaign promotes a healthier environment and strengthens our existing partnerships in Fauquier County and the state of Virginia.”

With Fauquier County partnering with Share The Air and joining the growing list of local parklands with tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor policies, more Virginians now have access to outdoor spaces free from secondhand smoke and vape aerosol, and tobacco and vape litter.

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About the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY)

Established in 1999 by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth empowers Virginia’s youth to make healthy choices by reducing and preventing youth tobacco and nicotine use, substance use, and childhood obesity. 

VFHY takes a comprehensive approach to prevention work that includes reaching about 50,000 children each year through classroom-based prevention programs in public schools, after-school programs, community centers, day cares and prevention programs across the state. VFHY’s award-winning marketing campaigns deliver prevention messaging to more than 500,000 children annually. In addition, VFHY’s research program provides scientific insight on methods to effectively reduce tobacco use. Since 2002, VFHY has funded 40 large research projects at universities throughout Virginia. For more information, visit www.vfhy.org.