Mayor Yvonne Keane named ambassador for Life Education

Mayor of The Hills Shire, Councillor Yvonne Keane was formally named as an Ambassador for Life Education – a not-for-profit organisation empowering children and young people to make safer and healthier choices through education – while on a visit to Samuel Gilbert Public School recently.

This new role adds to Mayor Keane’s portfolio as a champion for victims of domestic violence, a journalist and mother of two young children.

Mayor Keane said guiding young people to make safer and healthier life choices was close to her heart and something she felt passionate about.

“I am so proud to be an ambassador for Life Education,” Mayor Yvonne Keane said.

“As a mother of two school-aged kids, I can really see the benefits of creating healthy habits in the early years.”

Chair of Life Education NSW, the Hon. Alan Cadman said he was delighted Mayor Keane could join the Life Educationteam.

“We welcome the support of Mayor Keane, who joins our team of more than 100 Life Education ambassadors which includes members of local government, state and federal members of parliament and community leaders,” he said.

“By becoming involved with Life Education, our ambassadors are helping raise awareness of our vital services.

“In NSW more than 275,000 students in over 1800 schools take part in the preschool, primary and secondary programs each year, and we know it makes a lasting impact on their lives. We’d like to see more benefit from our program.

“With support from Mayor Keane and the continuing support of the Hills Shire, we can make a difference to the lives of more children and their communities so that generations of healthy, young Australians will be able to be the best people they can possibly be,” Mr Cadman said.

After the announcement, Mayor Keane joined former Federal Member for Mitchell Mr Cadman, Samuel Gilbert Public School children and the organisation’s mascot, Healthy Harold for a lesson on healthy living.

Mayor Keane said it was easy to see why the Healthy Harold program was so popular in schools and that was proven with its more than 35 year history.

“It was great to see students get so enthusiastic about the program. From the moment the students were seated in the van it was easy to see why they were all so eager to learn,” Mayor Keane said.

“The Life Education program is geared to engage students through exciting activities and wonderful engaging games, up-to-date technology and teaching methods, and has a vibrant presenter who captured their attention from the start.

“I commend Life Education for their dedication to remaining relevant to issues that face our students as they grow, especially drug awareness and cyber safety.”

The Healthy Harold program visits more than 275,000 children and youth in NSW schools a year.

It teaches children about healthy eating, as well as focusing on issues including cyber bullying and protecting personal information online.