Hoglan Elementary School fourth grade students Grady Shipley, left, and Kailla Ryan are pictured with a new water bottle filling station at the school.
The benefits of drinking water are widely known, so any effort to encourage students to do so is applauded.
One way is by providing water bottle filling stations as part of drinking fountains in the schools. Three Marshalltown Community School District buildings including Hoglan Elementary School, Fisher Elementary School and Lenihan Intermediate School have received grants from Delta Dental of Iowa to install the stations and also provide students with water bottles. The grants are part of Delta Dental’s “Rethink Your Drink” campaign.
Hoglan Elementary School nurse Megan Bell said the bottle filling station gets plenty of use at the school.
“I think everybody’s been happy about it,” Bell said. “I think we’d like to have more.”
Aside from the water bottle filling station and bottles, the grant also provides for $500 for an educational campaign to promote more students to drink water during the school day.
A total of 54 Iowa schools received this grant.
“This investment provides opportunities for oral health education for more than 28,000 Iowa students,” said Jeff Russell, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Iowa. “Through strong partnerships, the ‘Rethink Your Drink’ project helps students make the specific connection between oral health and overall health. In the long-term, students educated in better health and wellness practices could reduce health care costs for their families and communities.”
