Mayor Roy West declared Jan. 31 as “Be Well Beaumont Day” as 40 organizations support the ExxonMobil-sponsored MD Anderson Cancer Center wellness initiative.
BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont celebrated its inaugural “Be Well Beaumont Day” on Saturday at Lamar University as part of a 10-year, $10 million cancer prevention program by MD Anderson Cancer Center sponsored by ExxonMobil.
Be Well Beaumont Day, was held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sheila Umphrey Recreational Sports Center. The event featured live performances, free food distribution, fitness and gardening activities, a kids play area, and access to resources for healthier living.
Mayor West declared Jan. 31 as “Be Well Beaumont Day” on Jan. 6, an observance initiated by Gift of Life and the United Way. The day was designed around education and interactive activities with the goal of reducing cancer deaths while demonstrating that wellness can be enjoyable.
“ExxonMobil decided to partner with MD Anderson and bring that program here to Beaumont, so we’re really excited about it,” Phil Matherne, Beaumont ExxonMobil’s integrated complex manager said.
He also credited Lamar University for hosting the event and helping bring out the community.
“Lamar is hosting us today and really helping us kick this off and bringing out the community to really see what we can do to help awareness for cancer and cancer prevention,” Matherne said. “We’re really excited to partner with the community, with MD Anderson and just excited that we’re kicking this event off and all of the people that have showed up in support.”
Haley Gardiner, program director for Be Well Communities at MD Anderson, described the scope of the initiative and its local reach.
“Be Well Beaumont Day is our inaugural event here in Beaumont through Be Well Beaumont. It’s a 10 year initiative of MD Anderson, that’s sponsored by ExxonMobil,” Gardiner said.
Gardiner detailed the collaborative network already in place to support the program’s goals around nutrition and active living.
“Programs through organizations here in the Beaumont area with BISD, United Way, Gift of Life, The Giving Field, just lots of organizations where we’re really focused on nutrition and active living. So getting people out in the community, making sure that they know where to access healthy living programs,” said Gardiner.
The art museum is also planning to bring yoga into the museum, according to Gardiner.
“One of the things I really also love is that the art museum is going to bring yoga into the art museum. So it’s just a really interesting way to bring collaboration and opportunities to be active and healthier here in Beaumont,” Gardiner said.
Gardiner gave thanks to those who have been instrumental in getting the program off the ground, including a steering committee made up of roughly 40 organizations.
“We’re so grateful for Lamar University for hosting us today and to ExxonMobil for their support and for all the organizations that show up every month to be a part of our steering committee,” Gardiner said. “It’s around 40 organizations, and they’ve just jumped into this initiative and hit the ground running, and we’ve accomplished so much in such a short period of time, and I’m just so grateful for everything that they’ve done.”
