Allen County middle school students take part in National No One Eats Alone Day
ALLEN COUNTY, Ky. – For seven years, WellCare Kentucky supported National No One Eats Alone Day, and this year was no different.
Across Kentucky, 151 schools participated in No One Eats Alone Day, with about 64,000 students. In south-central Kentucky, elementary and middle school students got in on the fun.
Sarah Lockwood, a family resource coordinator at the Intermediate Center, says, “On No One Eats Alone Day, basically is brought to students to raise awareness on social isolation, to teach them how to include their peers, to make them feel accepted and valued.”
Helping kids discover their value at a young age can help them get involved with activities outside of the classroom and can add to their overall success in life.
Jennifer Wilson with Community engagement at WellCare Kentucky says, “Kids who are engaged and have groups and are accepted. It’s in and improves their mental and physical health. So it’s just more important for them not to feel isolated
Not only does this give the kids the chance to connect with students they never thought they would. It also allows them to strengthen their social skills.
Lockwood also says, “I personally believe that COVID had such a big impact on the children, especially that are in this school right now at this age. Because we have four fifth and sixth graders here. And, a lot of those kids never went to elementary school.”
Improving communication with day-to-day activities like lunch emphasizes the importance of kids communicating
Wilson says, “Sometimes they have bad days, and that’s okay. But we have always, tried to push, you know, just being kind to others and push, you know, push away the bullying and promoting, like, everyone fits in together no matter where you came from or who you are. And we knew that this program alone was something that we could do in the lunchroom, that is, to change up that environment a little bit.”
Ultimately, the day was filled with kindness and opportunities for connection with the students in Allen County.
