Earlier this month we announced that January 12th-18th received congressional recognition as Health Coach Week, and wow, we were amazed by the response! The week was a virtual celebration of joy, pride, and excitement as the IIN community rallied together to further health coaching. We’re not just a school – we’re a movement!

We were particularly inspired by the international response. Though Health Coach Week was made possible by the work and support of U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan, the need for health coaching is not limited to the United States. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic illnesses are a crisis across the world, and now more than ever, we need Health Coaches in every corner of the globe.

Here are some highlights of how Health Coach Week was celebrated worldwide:

• Over 1,500 students and graduates from across the world joined Joshua online for two celebratory webinars where Health Coaches from Australia, Western Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada and the United States shared their stories of success and inspiration.
• Students and graduates in Adelaide, Australia organized a meet-up to celebrate Health Coach Week. The excitement Down Under was phenomenal! The community was especially inspired by the success story of fellow Aussie Alice Nicholls, Class of 2013.
• A group of 15 Health Coaches from Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, and Colombia contributed to a recipe e-book organized by 2011 graduate Maria Jose Flaque to celebrate healthy eating in Spanish.
• 2014 graduate Janice Learmond-Criqui of Trinidad and Tobago dedicated her weekly Coaching Corner column in a national newspaper to Health Coach Week in a piece called “Health Coaches Can Transform Your Lives.”
• Congressman Tim Ryan’s letter celebrating Health Coaches was shared across social media and hundreds of Health Coaches contacted his office to express their appreciation for his support.
• 2013 graduate Tran Lan Huong of Vietnam shared in the comments section of our blog announcement, “A mid-life-corporate-manager-turned-health-coach like many of you, even in my wildest dream I cannot imagine that just 2 years after IIN I have coached 1,000+ Vietnamese people in this part of the world. Thank you, Joshua and IIN. So proud to be part of this amazing positive community!”

Thank you to every member of our community who helped make Health Coach Week such an inspiring celebration. You make our mission possible: to play a crucial role in improving health and happiness, and through that process, create a ripple effect that transforms the world.