FIVE OHIO SCHOOLS AND BUCKEYE HEALTH PLAN WILL PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL NO ONE EATS ALONE DAY

Date: 02/11/20

A positive prevention initiative designed to promote inclusion among students will be celebrated across five Ohio schools this February, with the help of Buckeye Health Plan. Students will learn how to include others and eliminate social isolation as part of National No One Eats Alone® Day in February. This positive prevention initiative was created by the nonprofit Beyond Differences, and is sponsored by Buckeye Health Plan.

Buckeye will host assemblies for elementary school students featuring lessons and activities about how to overcome social isolation and the negative impact it can have on a students’ health and academic performance at Oakdale Elementary, Glenwood Elementary, Steward Alternative Elementary, Harris-Jackson Elementary and Pleasant Hill Academy. Students will put the lessons into action by introducing themselves at lunch to fellow classmates who they didn’t formerly know, or who may feel left out. Ice breaker topics will help students start conversations and learn that they have many things in common.
Social isolation affects millions of students and has been identified as a precursor to bullying, self-harm and community violence. Students have shown that if they are given the tools, they will stand up for others as empathetic and caring activists, not passive bystanders.

“At Buckeye Health Plan, we’re committed to building and maintaining children’s health and well-being, and that includes providing them with resources to succeed in life,” said Buckeye President and CEO Steve Province. “We are proud to partner with Beyond Differences to celebrate No One Eats Alone Day, and bring light to social issues that affect Ohio students.”

“Social isolation is a preventable public health problem,” says Laura Talmus, co-founder and executive director of Beyond Differences. “We’ve learned through teachers and families that No One Eats Alone Day is a powerful step and positive initiative that can change the culture in schools to be a more welcoming place for all.”

The five schools join more than 2,500 schools across the country that celebrated National No One Eats Alone Day. The initiative reaches more than 1 million students in all 50 states each year.

No One Eats Alone Day is sponsored by the Centene Charitable Foundation.