News & Events

Kits for Kids

The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health to announce our new “Kits for Kids” program. As part of our Smart Choices for a Healthy Life initiative, the Partnership will distribute 2,500 free kits to school-aged children throughout local hospitals and clinics in northern New Jersey. Information and activities provided in the kits will teach children the importance of accepting differences and treating others with respect.

The kits come in two different versions for children in grades K-5 and 6-12, and include a drawstring backpack, custom coloring books, crayons, water bottles, face masks, extra learning activities, and more.

“The Kits for Kids project is an exciting and unique opportunity for the Partnership to collaborate with our member hospitals and their staff in providing essential education to school-age children on the importance of making healthy choices,” says Amy Gole, Director of Education for the Partnership.

Smart Choices for a Healthy Life offers free, age-appropriate presentations for students. The program, funded by the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities teaches children about the dangers of drinking alcohol and preventing disabilities. Children in younger grades learn about individual differences and how to treat everyone with kindness, as well as about the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. The presentation for older children and teens addresses the effects of alcohol on a person’s brain, the potential risks of pregnant women drinking alcohol, and an introduction to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

The Smart Choices for a Healthy Life presentation is available to collaborating schools in the Partnership’s eight county service area. During this time of distance-learning we are offering a pre-recorded Smart Choices presentation for children in grades 6-12 including digital pre/post-tests to assess student learning. We are also able to deliver the presentation “live” via your school’s virtual platform. Contact us for more information.

We are thankful to the hospitals and clinics who will be distributing these kits. Current participating organizations include:

Chilton Medical Center – Chilton Pediatric Clinic

Morristown Medical Center – Family Health Center

Newark Beth Israel – Pediatric Health Center

Overlook Medical Center – Health Start Clinic

Saint Barnabas Medical Center – Pediatric Health Center

Saint Clare’s Denville Hospital – Totowa Pediatrics

Saint Joseph’s Health – DePaul Center

Trinitas Regional Medical Center – Trinitas Pediatrics Health Center

Valley Hospital Community Care

University Hospital – University Pediatric Group

Pediatricare Associates

Hackensack Meridian Health – Mountainside Family Health Center

Learn more about Smart Choices for a Healthy Life.