Looking for a way to get your children up and running? Wondering how to help your kids unplug and get them excited about physical activity? With childhood obesity rates climbing at alarming rates, it is more important than ever to instill healthy habits and introduce children to the rewards of an active lifestyle at a young age. So help your kids put their screen time on pause and join New Balance San Antonio as it encourages kids to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle, help increase their self-esteem, and make new friends through the Healthy Kids Running Series, a national series of events designed to provide kids with a positive, educational and fun experience in the world of running. The Healthy Kids Running Series (HKRS) is a non-profit youth running program that motivates kids to ...
Many kids dream of owning a bike but not all kids can afford one. Now, thanks to the work of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and groups like POWER, PODER, the Black Coalition on AIDS, City of Dreams, and Arriba Juntos, an ordinance that makes bike access available to everyone, was signed on March 14, 2014. According to a Voices for Health Kids press release, the ordinance, which requires the city's police department to make city-recovered bikes available to low-income communities, will take full effect on April 14th. In 2013, community organizations partnered to bring over 800 bikes to low-income kids throughout the city of San Francisco. They also sponsored bike builds to train youth on bike safety and maintenance. Because low-income kids usually lack safe places to play and ...
A new City of Seattle report published in March 2014 highlights food access priorities for women and families in the Delridge neighborhood. The report was produced by a partnership between City Council member Mike O'Brien's office, the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, and the volunteer-run Seattle Women’s Commission. It was created in direct response to the complaints of one Delridge mother, who, in 2011, testified before The Seattle Women’s Commission that she was unable to carry out the most basic household task: grocery shopping in her neighborhood. An ethnically diverse neighborhood with geographic challenges — including valleys and ridges that make getting around difficult — Delridge has no traditional grocery store. Inaccessibility of healthy food has ...
Across the nation, communities are educating families about making healthy beverage choices. In southern New York, Broome County is taking it one step further by working on a new sugary drinks policy for all the programs run by the Broome County Cooperative Extension. The policy will provide guidelines for drink options at their programs and in their vending machines. Local 4-H groups will also adopt the policy. They plan on water and unsweetened milk replacing high-sugar sodas, juices, and teas. The extension hopes to bring these healthy drink policies to local schools and other organizations as well. Watch a news segment about the efforts ...
Latino kids often lack safe spaces to play. Therefore, having access to school gyms and playgrounds during non-school hours can greatly help. Jim Bischoff with the American Heart Association's Ohio chapter believes that opening school playgrounds across the state is one solution to the lack of safe active spaces. He says that schools often have liability concerns which keep them from opening school property to the community. Researcher Mary Chase, a professor of public health with Wright State University, says that keeping school facilities open is especially important in states like Ohio where children often stay inside due to cold weather. She said: "We have seen research in other states where several years after schools start opening their doors, we do see more physical ...
In Florida, legislators are proposing a law that would encourage schools to make playgrounds accessible to children during after school hours. According to a news report from Fox 35, community centers that provide after school activities, like YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the New Image Youth Center in Parramore, can stand to benefit from entering shared use agreements with local schools. Wayne Rich, Chair-Elect of the Greater Orlando American Heart Association said, "having access to outdoor facilities is vitally important to combating childhood obesity and school grounds are a perfect place to do that." If the law is put into effect, schools would be free of liability concerns and parents would be responsible for watching over their children. Read the full Fox 35 news ...
The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is bringing together groups from the private, public and non-profit sectors to come up with solutions to the nation's childhood obesity epidemic. In a recent meeting which took place during March 2014, at the PHA's annual summit eight new organizations, including four hospital systems, announced their commitment to battling childhood obesity. FirstBIKE, a company that produces training bikes for children ages 2-5, committed to donating at least 1,300 bikes a year to YMCAs across the nation for the next three years. Knowledge Universe, the largest private early childhood education provider, agreed to implement policies that reflect healthy lifestyle choices in 95% of their early childhood centers over the next three years. Other groups ...
In Iowa, where the Latino population is on the rise, a group of food-related stakeholders were brought together to form the Iowa Food Systems Council’s Food Access & Health Work Group (FAHWG) to positively impact Iowa's food environment. From this group, Cultivate Iowa was born. Cultivate Iowa's mission is to promote the benefits of food gardening and produce donation to create a sustainable future and healthier communities in Iowa. The initiative encourages people to start growing their own food wherever they can---in backyard gardens, container gardens, or wherever there is space! Then, gardeners are encouraged to donate their home-grown extras to local food pantries, sharing the goodness of fresh fruits and vegetables with families in need. Cultivate Iowa is ...
The YMCA (Y) of Central Florida is looking to make their facilities accessible to more than 31,500 people in need. This year their goal is to raise $3.2 million in funds, and acquire 3,000 volunteers to make this possible. With the dollars raised, the Y of Central Florida plans to support the operation of 11 different Ys, in underserved communities like Tangelo Park, South Orlando, Titusville and Pine Hills. The Y will provide afterschool programs, health and wellness programs, and early childhood development care to these communities regardless of age, income, race/ethnicity, or gender. Read more about this here. Learn more about the Y of Central Florida ...
