Dinwiddie, VA – Students in Dinwiddie County are seeing significant, healthy changes this year. Dinwiddie County Public Schools has made important updates to its School Wellness Policy to ensure students have increased access to water throughout the school day. This change will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the health and well-being of students throughout the division and their overall academic success, with 4,258 students covered under the policy revision and having access to the support they need to stay hydrated during the day. By prioritizing the well-being of its students, Dinwiddie County Public Schools is setting a great example for other school divisions to follow.
This updated policy was developed in collaboration with Rev Your Bev, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth’s (VFHY) healthy hydration campaign, and its statewide, award-winning high school program, Y Street.
Research has consistently proven that water is the healthiest beverage choice as it acts as fuel for your body. Since 2013, Rev Your Bev and Y Street have devoted and sustained efforts to spread healthy hydration messages to help individuals make drinking water a habit and improve Virginians’ overall health. Dinwiddie County Public Schools’ revised wellness policy now aligns more with Rev Your Bev’s best practices by recognizing water as an essential nutrient, adding provisions for access in high-traffic areas, requiring hygiene and safety standards for water sources, offering alternative water delivery methods if fountains are unavailable, and allowing students to carry water bottles.
VFHY and Y Street are committed to supporting Virginia school divisions’ efforts to maintain a positive, healthy learning environment and serve as a resource for Virginia schools. “The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth is thrilled to have Dinwiddie County Public Schools join as a partner to support healthy hydration. Adequate water consumption is a great habit for youth to develop and a key component to creating positive health outcomes,” said Executive Director Marty Kilgore.
The impact of the updated policy is expected to increase students’ water consumption and promote positive, healthy hydration. Dinwiddie County Public Schools joins the growing list of divisions with comprehensive wellness policies prioritizing water access and promotion, becoming Rev Your Bev’s 23rd partner. “Dinwiddie County Public Schools’ would like to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for Y Street’s focus on increasing both access to and consumption of water among our students. Studies show that staying hydrated through water consumption is essential for maintaining overall good health and well-being. We would like to thank you once again for bringing this important initiative to our school division. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Y Street while making positive impacts on the health and well-being of our students and school community”, says Marion H. Elder, Director of School Nutrition
Dinwiddie County Public Schools will receive free resources such as water bottles from VFHY as part of its partnership with Rev Your Bev to support the division in implementing its updated policy.
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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.
