Clarkston For Life – City-wide Health Initiative Kicks Off

(Mark H. Stowers, July 1, 2017)

Clarkston, MI – In 2016, Michigan ranked 39^th in the State Well Being Rankings (Hawaii was first and West Virginia was last) according to a Gallup and Healthways report. In an effort to help change that ranking and other similar ones and reach out to help an entire community, the Clarkston For Life organization was born. The organization, according to its Facebook page, “is a community initiative focuses on the social, emotional and physical well-being of Clarkston residents from birth throughout life.”

Mary Ellen Rowe from Clarkston schools helped explained the program.

“The school district is starting it but it’s a Clarkston community effort,” she said. “We are really aiming to involve everyone in the community. Not just a school district pushed thing. We came together as a school district and saw the need for this.”

The program involves local healthcare providers and other businesses.

“Our focus for this year is happiness and resilience,” she said.

The group had a book discussion at the Clarkston Independence Library last week focused on the book by Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage. There will be another book discussion on August 17 with the book, The Resilience Factor by Karen Reivich at 7:00 p.m.

“We like to say, ‘don’t let setbacks, set you back,’” she said. “We are getting a lot of interest

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from the community and involvement from people with certain expertise – counselor and

healthcare professionals, mindfulness experts who can help train in meditation. These are exercises we want to bring to our students and our members of the community throughout the year.”

The long range five-year plan is to become a model of community well-being.

“Each year we will focus on a different area of well-being,” she said. “We are all pulling together and supporting one another.”

Clarkston for Life includes parents from the school board, counselors and doctors. To learn more, check out www.facebook.com/ClarkstonForLife. Bringing a community as a whole toward a better life, physically.