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In response to the success of the Healthy Family Fun campaign's initial phase, its sponsors have extended funding for an additional year.

Healthy Family Fun, based in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, capitalizes upon the neighborhoods' existing resources to promote affordable, healthy behaviors and educate families on nutrition and the benefits of an active lifestyle.

Children's Hospital Boston imagined the campaign in 2010 and Health Resources in Action brought it to life by developing a brand, creating a website (healthyfamilyfun.org). HRiA promoted the campaign with billboards and posters in MBTA stations as well as ads on Facebook.

The second phase of the campaign included a redesign of the website and the addition of a Facebook page. The upgraded site better facilitates healthier lifestyles by providing families with a wealth of vetted resources, organized and presented in a logical way.

The focus of the campaign expanded to include the stories of real families who exemplify the goals of the initiative. These stories, combined with pieces written by HRiA and experts in the field represent the bulk of the site content. Karen Schoneman, assistant director for health communication at HRiA and the chief architect of the campaign, explained the website's dedication to the highest quality of information.

Using the site's cooking section as an example, Schoneman said that "a nutritionist at Children's Hospital evaluates the entire recipe. Parents can rest assured that the information they're working with is top notch."

Children's Hospital's initial interest in creating the campaign was to help address the issue of childhood obesity in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, two neighborhoods it serves frequently.

"Children's Hospital Boston has been very pleased with the Healthy Family Fun campaign," said Jennifer Fine, communications manager in the Children's Office of Child Advocacy.

"It's been a great way to get out the message to parents of young children in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury that they can be healthy together as a family and have fun at the same time," Fine continued. "Children's feels that it is critically important to encourage families and support them in their efforts to be active and eat right. Through Healthy Family Fun, we can provide information and link families to the local resources needed to help them achieve their goals."