PTA Wellness Fairs

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PTA Wellness Fairs

This program is for students of all grades and their parents and caregivers.

As part of our Healthy Lifestyles Initiative, National PTA is committed to improving the overall health and well-being of families across the country, because we know living a healthy lifestyle is a key component to our students' ability to thrive.

PTA Wellness Fairs offer students of all grades and their parents and caregivers a fun and flexible interactive method of engaging with health topics that go beyond a traditional classroom environment. Health fairs allow students the opportunity to explore a variety of topics at their own pace and choose which topics are most engaging to them.

To go a step further in engaging students, PTA leaders and members can ask teachers, students, caregivers and administrators for input on which health topics students are most interested in to develop meaningful programming. Wellness fairs also create an opportunity to collaborate inside and outside your school community with partners to highlight external resources and information available.

Wellness Fairs

In their own words:
“This was the best family event we’ve ever been to at this school. My kids and I had a blast!”

—23-24 McDougle Elementary School PTA Wellness Fair participant 


PTA Wellness Fairs Toolkit


This program is for all ages.


Use the planning guide and program toolkit resources to guide you through creating a wellness fair that supports the needs and interests of your school community while using the framework of the Healthy Lifestyles pillars: Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Earth.

Planning
Planning Resources
  • Work with school administration and determine who will oversee the PTA Wellness Fair’s planning, timeline and implementation.
  • Identify a venue for the fair. The wellness fair should serve the needs of the students and their families, so PTA leaders should select a location that is easily accessible and convenient and that has the capacity for the number of anticipated attendees.
  • Identify areas of interest and develop engagement methods for students. PTA leaders and members are encouraged to conduct a needs assessment to hear directly from students, families, teachers and school staff to identify the health topics students are most interested in.
  • Set a date and time for the event. Consider selecting a time and date for the wellness fair that naturally complements the school’s schedule and takes family needs into consideration.
Promoting
Promoting Resources
  • Promote the event. Share information about the date, time and topics of your PTA Wellness Fair widely. Share this information through multiple channels of communication, including the school’s website, PTA newsletter, social media and more! Engage both teachers and other students to encourage all students and their families to attend.
  • Use the customizable templates in the Promoting section of the program toolkit resources, such as event invitations and sample social media posts.
Hosting
Hosting Resources
  • Make the space for your PTA Wellness Fair as inviting as possible by incorporating music, colors, activities and healthy foods and beverages.
  • Have take-home resources available to send students and families home with takeaways from the fair’s main lessons and about any community partners participating.
  • Use the resources in the Hosting tab of the programs toolkit to ensure you have a media release to be able to fully capture the program impact and an event day checklist to guide you through the steps needed. Don’t forget to have PTA membership information available to invite any new members who want to sign-up!
Celebrating Impact
Celebrating Impact
  • Make sure to document and take pictures of your program throughout planning and implementation, so you can share out the impact of your PTA! Share successes with your entire school community, state PTA and National PTA. Tag us to your photos and stories @NationalPTA using hashtags #PTAProud and #HowWePTA! Visit How We PTA to see examples of amazing PTA stories.
  • The work you do throughout the year demonstrates the power and value of PTA as we meet the critical needs of our children, families and schools.
  • Use the Celebrating Impact section of the program toolkit for additional ideas and templates to thank volunteers and share the good work of your PTA!
  • And don’t forget to invite program attendees to complete the Family Survey found at PTA.org/Survey.