American National University’s Pikeville, KY campus hosted a Healthy Fun Fair for their community on July 16, 2022. The Leadership Class, who are set to graduate this term, hosted this fun fair as their Community Project. The students included Matthew Hamilton, Samantha Justice, Brandy Scott, and Sarah Shepherd. The event reached over 150 residents of the Pikeville area, where families could receive free physicals, food, and giveaways. Matthew Hamilton and Sarah Shepherd also gave free back-to-school haircuts to the boys and girls who attended with their families.
Along with those activities, families had many free events to participate in. The Healthy Fun Fair included polygraph testing and fingerprinting for children and PAD screenings. They could also get free glucose readings and become educated on the harms of smoking. Thanks to the Pikeville Fire Department, families could also learn the ins and outs of a firetruck, and thanks to Kentucky State Police, they could also learn the same about police cruisers. Air-Evac Life Team also provided education on helicopter rescue landings. With all the education that families received that day, they also got to let loose with some cornhole games and inflatables.
“The event was a great success because we were able to provide some care for an underserved area in eastern Kentucky! We hope that it continues and continues to grow,” says student, Matthew Hamilton. “Hopefully the community and children were able to see that people care for them and are willing to help.”
There are also special thanks to those entities that helped make the fair happen. Those thanks go to: Pike County Health Department, Kentucky State Police, Pikeville Fire Department, Broad Bottom Grooming, Goodfella’s Barbershop, Hurley’s Inflatables, Rudd Equipment, Air-Evac Life Team, and Walmart.
“The community has been buzzing before, during and after the event,” says paramedic program director, James Hess. “The community leaders that [were] present commented on how much they appreciated being invited. Hopefully, moving forward we can continue to host the Healthy Fun Fair. The Nursing Graduates did an outstanding job organizing [it].”
