LifeSmarts enlists high school students as OTC medicine safety mentors – National Consumers League

hertzberg-1.jpgThis blog was originally published on LifeSmarts.org.

We are excited to launch a new community service project today: the LifeSmarts OTC Medicine Safety Mentoring Project, which provides materials and curriculum that are bolstered by educational resources produced by Scholastic.

Studies have found that children as young as 10 and 11 begin self-administering OTC medicines. Our new outreach effort equips high school students with tools they can use to mentor younger children to be safe in their use and storage of OTC medicines.

  • High School focus: Classroom lessons, study materials for the 2017-18 competition, and resources to prepare high school students to educate 5th and 6th graders.
  • Middle School focus: Materials designed to be used with 5th and 6th graders and taught by LifeSmarts high school student mentors.
  • Community focus: Community-engagement activities offer fun, fast ways to engage with parents, children, and the community at large.

The LifeSmarts OTC Medicine Safety Mentoring Project represents strong partnerships, which drive everything we do here at LifeSmarts. We are gratified to work with dedicated educators seeking current consumer lessons for the classroom, competitive coaches looking for every advantage in preparing their teams for online and live competition, and enthusiastic student participants with a strong sense of community involvement. We are also gratified to have the support and encouragement of our funding partner, McNeil Consumer Healthcare.

We know LifeSmarts gives students the skills they need to succeed as adults, and we know students are eager to apply what they learn at home and in their communities. We have seen LifeSmarts students embrace the Safety Smart project, conduct food waste audits with gusto, and produce creative PSAs to educate their peers. We are excited to present students and coaches with this community outreach effort and see where they will take it!

As LifeSmarts celebrates “The Year of Health and Safety” in 2017-18 we will continue to give special focus throughout the year to health and safety lessons, learning activities, special projects, and new opportunities.