School-park partnerships are popping up all over the country!
In the summer of 2016, the Chicago Park District in Chicago, Ill. (28.9% Latino) provided Chicago Public Schools (CPS) $112,500 to implement a new initiative to watch over children walking and biking to 20 city parks for summer programs.
The program is modeled after CPS's Safe Passage, which has been around since 2009 to watch kids traveling to and from school in at-risk neighborhoods.
The summer safety program will hire 150 CPS workers and train them in relationship-building skills and de-escalation strategies to be the eyes and ears for children getting to and from park activities.
One of the parents said that the training helped her intervene in an altercation that she would have otherwise probably ignored.
"We want ...
The state of Alaska has started the "Play Every Day" campaign to help boost physical activity and reduce sugary drink consumption among families across the state, where two out of three Alaskan adults are now overweight or obese and one out of three Alaskan children are overweight or obese. The new campaign asks kids to drink more water and understand that they don't need sports drinks to play sports. Public service announcement videos for families are also available on the campaign's website, talking about the sugar content in drinks. Posters inform students that even one sweet beverage a day, like a powdered drink, can lead to cavities, weight gain, and type 2 diabetes. The goal of the campaign is to help reduce consumption of drinks that have added sugars, but also to ...
President Barack Obama recently reviewed one of the signature pieces of his administration in an article contributed to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Writing as “Barack Obama, J.D.,” the President reflected on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its six years of implementation. The President gave praise to the healthcare overhaul and pointed out how the ACA has sharply reduced the number of uninsured in the United States while improving coverage for those who already had it. The current enrollment numbers, as of February 2016, are 12.7 million enrolled through the marketplace, and nearly 20 million total between the ACA between the Marketplace, Medicaid expansion, young adults staying on their parents plan, and other coverage provisions. “The Affordable Care ...
As visitors entered the public library in Clyde, Ohio, (5.9% Latino) students from Ohio State University (OSU) are encouraging them to think about the sugar amounts in their favorite sports drinks, coffee drinks, and juices, according to a local news article. The presentation was part of the "Rethink Your Drink" campaign aiming at helping library visitors to understand how sugary drinks impact their health. The presentations showed how Monster energy drinks contain 54 grams of added sugar or in regular terms, 14 packages of sugar, explained Katie LaPlant, the extension office's educator, according to the Fremont News Messenger. Research shows that consuming the added sugars in soda, sports drinks, and some juice drinks are linked to tooth decay, heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes ...
The Michigan Breastfeeding Network (MIBFN) develops and supports education programs, materials, and conferences that encourage breastfeeding in Michigan (4.9% Latino). One method is through their MI Breastfeeding-Friendly Business Project initiative to recognize companies in compliance with the federal Break Time for Nursing Mothers legislation and celebrate employers that go above and beyond federal requirements to support families. MIFBFN recognizes newly awarded businesses and creates positive press to encourage current, and future employees, clients, patients, patrons, stakeholders, partners, and all of Michigan to support businesses that support working families. MIBFN provides a press release to distribute to local media outlets; provides a sample article for the ...
Recent news reveals Albany, California is on the map for the next possible soda taxes as city council members voted to officially place a soda tax on the ballot. The voting took place on a Tuesday last November, joining other efforts across the country looking to reduce consumption of drinks with added sugars that is linked to chronic disease like Type-2 diabetes. More and more cities are considering soda taxes for health initiatives in their communities, most recent are Boulder, Colo., San Francisco, Calif., Watsonville, Calif., Davis City, Calif. , Oakland, Calif., Richmond, Calif. and Portland, Ore. A few other states have also attempted soda taxes in the past including Texas and Vermont. Some states are still discussing soda and/or junk food taxes, like Illinois and ...
The city of Austin, Texas (34.83% Latino population) is one of the country’s fastest growing metropolitan areas. In addition to being the state’s capital, it is also home to a thriving tech industry base, a large college town, and a growing center for the entertainment industry. Like many cities in Central and South Texas, it is also a majority-minority city. No demographic group is currently the majority Austin’s population. When it comes to representation in the city government, Austin’s diversity has led to some considerable challenges. To address these long-standing concerns and feelings of inequality and representative inequity, the city has begun the creation of an Equity Office. “We felt like there were not enough Latina women in positions at the very top,” said ...
Various cities throughout the nation are thinking about soda taxes or working on reducing beverages like energy drinks, and unnatural juices in schools, and city vending machines. Now Raley's, a privately owned and family operated supermarket chain in West Sacramento will be removing name-brand sodas from their stores. The 121 stores are located in Northern California and Nevada under four names: Raley's Supermarkets, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source. A recent article explains the decision to remove these type of beverages from the store was to advance their vision of health and wellness, wanting to "make it easier" for their costumers to make healthier choices. Latino kids ages 0-5 consume more sugary drinks than their peers, and about 74% of Latinos have had a ...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will award 10 research grants of more than $7 million aimed at eliminating inequities in access to care and improving the oral health of children. These awards support the Multidisciplinary and Collaborative Research Consortium to Reduce Oral Health Disparities in Children an initiative of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). “By establishing this research consortium, NIDCR seeks to lead national efforts in reducing childhood oral health disparities,” said NIDCR Director Dr. Martha Somerman. “Among the projects awarded are those that test innovative health promotion and disease prevention strategies and evaluate and refine existing programs and policies.” It has been reported by the NIDCR that children ...
