CA4Health/Madera County Healthy Beverages at Head Start Centers

CA4Health is the Community Transformation Grant led by the Public Health Institute (PHI) which covers 42 California counties with populations less than 500,000, working with local health departments and their community partners to implement strategies to bring about systemic and environmental changes that address health inequities in these mostly rural, low income regions. One of the core strategies focuses on reducing consumption of sugary beverages and increasing access to healthy beverages including water. Storytelling through visual and written materials has become an increasingly popular and necessary communication element in how projects share their successes with key stakeholders. CA4Health has a robust and multi-component evaluation plan in place to provide data-driven assessments of how effectively its evidence-based approaches are being implemented. What storytelling adds is helping to contextualize the data and engage audiences on an emotional level around the impact these efforts have in the lives of individuals and families. To help tell the CA4Health story, PHI partnered with Youth Speak Media Solutions, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that pairs youth interested in the creative arts with working professionals. YSMS was contracted to produce a series of short-form success story videos that would fit with online video platforms like Vimeo and YouTube. The first production featured the success of the Madera County Public Health Department working with Head Start Centers across a 4-county Central California Valley region to implement strong new healthy beverage standards. With over half of Madera County’s population of Hispanic/Latino origin, it was decided to have a mix of English and Spanish language interviews reflected. The total production budget for the video was under $5,000.