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Sisters Launch Afterschool Fitness Program for Neighborhood Kids



San Antonio sisters Makayla Esparza, 9, and Alyssa Esparza, 8, led largely inactive lifestyles. They saw a weight-loss contest on TV and decided to get active and help others get active, but they didn’t know of any afterschool programs to join and they didn’t have anyone to be active with. This led to their big idea: invite all the kids from their neighborhood for a 90-day get fit challenge to improve. With the help of their grandmother, Dawn Guerrero, Alyssa and Makayla posted an ad on Craigslist to invite kids to be active with them. They also invited members from the fitness community to show them ways to be fit. Soon kids from all over the neighborhood started showing up, and the group “Fitness FUNatics” was born. Although their 90-day challenge is now over, the Fitness ...

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New Greenway Provides a Path to Resilience & Increased Physical Activity



An abandoned alley in Lake Worth, Fla., was re-developed into an attractive greenway through team work and perseverance by a researcher, school district employee, city staff, and the community. The greenway, which is located near a school in a predominantly Latino area, will increase the area’s walkability and connect two neighborhoods to a nearby high school. EMERGENCE Awareness: Dr. Ruth McCaffrey, a trained nurse and professor at Florida Atlantic University, was keenly aware that obesity was a growing concern in Lake Worth, Fla. About 30% of the city’s 35,000 residents live in poverty, and 40% are Latino—with a growing number of families migrating there from Guatemala. Several parts of town lack adequate spaces for physical activity, and the way the city was designed impedes ...

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