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There is a movement in central Florida starting to blossom that promotes healthy food and activities through intergenerational connections. OASIS Catch Healthy Habits program encourages senior citizens to teach young kids how to stay healthy and active by volunteering and teaching them wisdom about what it takes to live a healthy long life.
The program is sponsored by a grant from the Winter Park Health Foundation. The Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning established the Volunteers organized in Community Engagement program (VOICE), to recruit the senior citizen volunteers.
The senior citizens volunteer with BrookShire Elementary every week to teach K-5 kids with a three-pronged strategy that includes a nutritious snack packed with energy, a nutrition lesson, and a fun game or physical activity. Sharing the wisdom with the kids, are people like Volunteer Barbara J. Smith, who explains in a recent article, that her heart is in the classroom.
Students are fascinated by the program and become friends with the volunteers, they learn and remember what is taught on nutrition. They enjoy the fresh vegetables given out including cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots.
The program fosters relationships said, Holly Tanyhill a VOICE coordinator, stating that about the program that, “Everyone loves it.”
Helping Latino youth in intergenerational programs like these may inspire a culture of health that encourages healthier eating and culturally appropriate foods and fun activities.
By The Numbers
33
percent
of Latinos live within walking distance (<1 mile) of a park
