STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service has received national recognition for a Healthy Homes Initiative marketing campaign.

The National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences presented Extension with the first-place Marketing Package Award for its Healthy Homes Initiative promotional efforts.

Healthy Homes is a 12-topic curriculum developed by Extension educators to provide training on safe indoor environments. The courses include sessions on radon, carbon monoxide, lead, drinking water and pest management.

MSU Extension and the MSU Office of Agricultural Communications teamed to identify audiences that would benefit most from Healthy Homes training and the best ways to reach those audiences. Led by Extension health specialist David Buys, the team developed brochures, news releases, cards, how-to videos and other promotional items to increase visitors to the Healthy Homes website and encourage more Mississippians to sign up for individual classes. Nearly 10,000 people saw promotional items, and requests for training exceeded 100.

Extension also received a regional National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Community Health Award for its Junior Master Wellness Volunteers program.

Now in its second year, Junior Master Wellness Volunteers is a health literacy and promotion program offered through 4-H for 14- to 18-year-olds. Thirty-six Extension agents have delivered the program to 366 student volunteers in 33 Mississippi counties. Volunteers must earn community service hours by participating in projects or delivering health messages. Over the last two years, they made more than 7,200 contacts.

Extension instructor Ann Sansing leads Junior Master Wellness Volunteers.

The awards were presented at the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Annual Session in San Antonio in late September.

Visit Healthy Homes Initiative website for more information. (http://extension.msstate.edu/hhi)