What good is physical activity if you fuel up with junk food and sugary drinks? One leader in Arlington County, Va., realized that the absence of healthy drink and snack options at parks and public buildings was sending an unclear message to the community about the importance of proper nutrition for an active lifestyle. With overwhelming community support, he drove good-for-you options into vending machines in county-owned property and local schools, creating an environment that weaves both nutrition and physical activity into the fabric of neighborhood health.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: Families in Arlington County, Va., come from many different cultural backgrounds.
Among the county’s 16% Latino population, this diversity is apparent. “The Latino population is probably a bit ...
What happens when youth are given the opportunity to lead their classmates toward a healthier school environment? The results might just amaze you! Teens involved in the 20-20 Leadership program at JC Harmon High School, a 58% Latino school in Kansas City, Kan., learned about the county’s high obesity rates—and they decided to do something about it. They developed plans for a healthy hub at Harmon High and later came up with the win-for-all solution of developing an outdoor fitness trail on school grounds. Now the school has a half-mile fitness trail and students plan to continue enhancing fitness opportunities by installing outdoor exercise equipment along the trail.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: D’Angelo Hicks was a junior at Harmon High when he first joined 20/20 Leadership, a 10-15 ...
Could Los Angeles soon be seeing more pocket parks? According to a news article from The Los Angeles Times, a nonprofit that works to bring more green space to underserved communities, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT), is working to identify lost lots throughout the city, in efforts to develop more pocket parks for residents. After discovering that nearly half of the city's 3.8 million residents did not live within a 10-minute walk to a park, LANLT decided to create a database comprised of lost and abandoned lots like small lots, alleys, and utility corridors throughout the city. According to the article, in the last two years, the city's Parks and Parks and recreation department purchased 24 small lots---most of them not larger than 1/2 acre---to build ...
Resource bonds that bring more parks and green space to low-income, park poor communities can make a difference in the way Latinos live, work, and play, according to the City Project. In a June 2014 update from the City Project---a non-profit group that works towards equal justice, democracy, and livability by improving the conditions of the built environment---we are reminded that equitable distribution of park funds must continue and that policy should be written to include standards to ensure that this happens. At a Summer 2014 park bond hearing, according to a KCET news report, Robert Garcia Founding Direct and Counsel of the City Project said: "Fair distribution of funds is good policy." As stated in a City Project blog, California's Assembly Bill 31 (2008) is a ...
Parents and students from Central Elementary, a predominantly Latino school in San Diego, CA, celebrated accomplishing their goal of walking or jogging over 100 miles in less than a year, according to a Mid-City Community Action Network (CAN) blog. According to the blog, the school's 100 mile club has over 50 students, and this year eleven of its members and some of their parents logged in over 100 miles. One student, 7 year old Alvaro Perez and his mother Margarita, walked a total of 214 miles. The group, which is primarily parent led, was started in fall 2013 by parent Jos Ramos in collaboration with the Central Health and Wellness Council. With the support of the school's principal, Liz Duvall, the team applied for and received a start up acceleration grant from Michelle ...
In Houston (43.8% Latino), members belonging to the Ketelsen Trailblazers---a group originally formed out of the Go Neighborhoods community development initiative---are working to improve their neighborhood's streets and access to physical activity opportunities. According to a Healthy Living Matters newsletter, the Ketelsen Trailblazers recently attended a July 2014 Super Neighborhood meeting where they shared their plans for working to prioritize street improvements on the northside of the city and for reaching out to local school Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs). By joining the city's Complete Streets Coalition the group hopes to demonstrate the need for strengthening language in the city's Complete Streets executive order. In addition to seeking street improvements, the ...
In 2007, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) became aware of a serious problem, the city lacked open spaces for kids to play. Without safe places to play children, especially Latino kids, are more likely to be sedentary and less likely to get the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity they need to lead a healthy and active life. According to a document from the New York City Global Partners, nearly 97 out of 188 city neighborhoods were overcrowded with more than 1,250 children per playground. If the lack of open spaces continued, it was projected that by 2030, 50 neighborhoods would have less than 1.5 acres per 1,000 people. In order to manage the situation, partners from the DPR, the Department of Education (DOE), and the Trust for ...
Leaders from across the US are bringing healthy change to their part of the country by joining the Let's Move Cities, Towns, and Counties (LMCTC) initiative. According to a National League of Cities (NLC) blog, since January 2014, in addition to over 1,800 communities who started making healthy changes, eleven LMCTC communities completed all the requirements necessary to earn gold medals in five different health categories. The eleven communities who have committed to growing healthy change include: Beaumont, TX - Councilmember Dr. Alan B. Coleman
Annapolis, MD – Mayor Michael Pantelides
Columbia, SC – City Council Member Tameika Isaac Devine
Columbus, OH – Mayor Michael B. Coleman
Fontana, CA – Mayor Acquanetta Warren
Knox County, TN – Mayor Tim ...
Kids in South Carolina and across the country are still not getting enough physical activity according to a July 2014 CDC report. In an article published by The Post and Courier, Dr. Daniel Bornstein, assistant professor of health, exercise and sport science at The Citadel, said the findings of this report should be a call to action for our nation's youth to start moving. The 2014 State Indicator Report on Physical Activity, which examined behavioral, environmental and policy indicators across the 50 states, found that in South Carolina (a state with a growing Latino population), nearly 20% of youth reported not being physically activity. States like Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee also presented high numbers of physical inactivity, with levels of ...
