If you’ve ever dreamed of making a difference in your community (or if you’re a kid who doesn’t mind getting a little dirty), then you’ll want to hear about the amazing mud run program, Mile Strong Kids by Fred Bailon and John Soto.
Bailon and Soto, two elementary-school teachers in the majority Latino city of San Antonio, Texas, organized a one-day mud run to start “standing up to obesity.” The event was so surprisingly successful that it led to the formation of a running club and non-profit group to organize mud runs all over town.
Obesity Spurs Big Idea
Fred Bailon and John Soto are teachers at W.Z. “Doc” Burke Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas. About 87% of Burke students are Latino and 82.3% of the school’s population is economically disadvantaged, ...
Thirteen-year-old Estrella Hernandez, a member of the Mayor's Fitness Council Student Ambassadors, is making waves with her idea for an innovative fitness app made just for youth. Her app, "WeWalk," aims to motivate kids to exercise by using technology that they are familiar with. Kids play games on apps all the time, but now they can lead healthier lives while continuing to play. After learning about health issues and how obesity is affecting other youth her age, Estrella was inspired to combine health and technology. She has already received $12,500 in funding from the 80/20 Foundation and HEB. Building the app isn't simple, as it involves maintaining users accounts, monitoring how much users walk, and using Geo locations. Once the app is developed and beta tested, it will ...
Residents of Dove Springs, a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Austin, Texas, are doing something to improve the safety and appearance of their neighborhood parks According to the Dove Springs Manantial de Salud blog, pastors and congregation members of Iglesia Bautista Great Commission en Dove Springs adopted Franklin Neighborhood Park in March of 2013, in efforts to improve neighborhood safety and to provide children with a place to play. The work did not end here however. Other local residents did their part by organizing groups of volunteers to improve the conditions of five other parks, including: Dove Springs District Park, Kendra Page Neighborhood Park, Houston Park, Onion Creek Park, and Ponciana Neighborhood Park. Community members met with local law ...
Alicia Gonzalez, a young Latina with experience in community development, was eager to keep kids stay active, given the rise of local obesity. She partnered up with a local family foundation who wanted to start a running program. The result was Chicago Run a non-profit incentive based program which has promoted running to over 13,000 children.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: Chicago resident Alicia Gonzalez enjoys improving the quality of life in her community.
She has experience teaching Latino youth about AIDS, mentoring inner-city kids in Boston, and building private-sector partnerships to better people’s lives through asset-based community development (ABCD)—an approach to community development that emphasizes a community’s assets rather than its deficits.
Several years ago, she was ...
After realizing that patients were not participating in regular physical activity, clinicians at the Community Health and Social Services (CHASS) Center in the Mexicantown neighborhood of Detroit decided to try something different to get residents from this largely Latino community moving. Physicians like Maricela Castillo and Richard Bryce teamed up with local organizations to host the neighborhood’s first-ever 5K race. Because the 5K entry was made affordable, many of the 200 participants were CHASS patients. The clinic plans to make the 5K an annual event as a means to promote its other nutrition and fitness programs for patients.
EMERGENCE
Awareness/Learn: The Community Health and Social Services Center (CHASS) is a nonprofit clinic that provides affordable health care and support ...
Mayor Lee Leffingwell of Austin, Texas organized and participated in a 1.5 mile walk/run to encourage a healthy work environment among city employees. The walk which took place Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at noon was not just for city employees, but was also open to the public. According to a press release from the city of Austin's website, mayor Leffingwell said: "We are constantly striving to achieve healthy workplaces throughout our community." He also recognized that leading a healthy and active lifestyle could help offset some of the community's overall health care costs. In 2013, the city of Austin was recognized as the "Healthiest Employer of Central Texas," largely in part due to its HealthyConnections program that offers employees weekly fitness activities. The year ...
According to architectural engineer and CEO of HemisFair Park Andres Andujar, every great city should have a great park. Now with support from San Antonio's leadership and the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation (HPARC), the city will transform Hemisfair Park into Hemisfair, a place where people could eat, work, play, and live. To learn more about Hemisfair and the coming changes to San Antonio's downtown area watch the video below entitled Meet Hemisfair. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuxOJRuT8Kk Learn more about this project which is scheduled to be complete in 2020 by visiting the Hemisfair ...
Schools and parents in Miami Shores are joining the movement to make biking and walking to school easier for local students. This year students from three schools in Miami Shores---Doctors Charter School of Miami Shores, Miami Shores Community Church School, and St. Rose of Lima Parish---all joined in on the excitement of National Bike to School day. In this video, parent Patrice Gilspie-Smith speaks of a survey she is conducting to find out how parents feel about their kids walking to school. According to Gilspie-Smith, parents would love for their kids to walk to school, but they feel that the high traffic in the area is intimidating. Find out what other schools across the nation participated in Bike to School Day 2013 and learn how to get your local school involved, by visiting ...
According to a San Antonio Express- News article, local residents can now enjoy several options for staying active through free programming offered by the city's Parks and Recreation Department. Because fitness programming and gym memberships are often expensive, cities like San Antonio, TX are often looking for alternative ways to keep residents active. After participating in classes for a brief time, some program participants, like Gabrielle Gullete, say they have already noticed improvements in their health. “I think more people need to know about what the city offers,” Gullette said. “I had no idea what my options were.” Gullete also added that since joining the free fitness classes, four months prior, she lost 25 pounds. According to the San Antonio ...
