Healthy Families
Pathway to Better Health: One Step at a Time
Standing at the finish line at Monday’s 115th Boston Marathon, I marveled at the determination, dedication and sheer grit each runner possessed. One by one I greeted the 43 members of my team as they arrived at the finish on Boylston Street. Huge smiles and expressions of relief adorned their faces as they reached the line, as the sense of accomplishment finally started to set in and the goal of completing 26.2 miles became a reality. The exhilarating energy here on race day reminds me of some of the best games of my football career.
Lacrosse, “The Medicine Game,” Creates Physical Activities Opportunity for Urban Native Youth
On March 12th, I joined a group of families and members of Native American Lifelines, an urban Indian community center in Baltimore, for the Konica-Minolta Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium. Kerry Lessard, the Health and Cultural Consultant for the center, was inspired by Let’s Move! and wanted to get the youth active through the sport of lacrosse, which has cultural significance in many Indian communities.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of Let’s Move!
To celebrate the one-year anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago marked the date with healthy snacks and a visit from the USDA’s Power Panther mascot.
April showers bring…Walk to School Day registration!
Shortly after the signs of spring begin to show – be it rain or snow showers – folks in the Safe Routes to School world begin to think about Walk to School Day registration. This year’s event will be celebrated across America on Wednesday, October 5, and I hope Let’s Move! supporters can join the fun. After all, it’s an international celebration of families and communities being active – together – on the way to school.
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Health and Fitness: Winning the Future for Our Youth
Over the weekend, more than 1500 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) youth and family members joined celebrity fitness trainer, Jillian Michaels, and professional athletes Troy Polamalu and Marcus McNeil at the University of California, Los Angeles, to answer the First Lady’s call. Our goal: draw attention to the increasing rate of childhood obesity among NHPI youth and promote physical activity and healthy living.
Inspiration Found in Let’s Move! Detroit
The middle of March in the upper Midwest is not ordinarily a time to have much of a conversation about fresh fruits and vegetables, but the people I met in Detroit this morning are far from ordinary. Let’s Move! Detroit’s community partner Green Ribbon Collaborative, invited me to stop by the Eastern Market, one of the oldest urban farmers’ markets in the country, to learn how their unique partnership is making fresh produce a more appealing option for busy families.
Blue Springs, Missouri Joins the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative
At the request of Mayor Carson Ross, the Blue Springs, Missouri City Council unanimously passed a resolution of commitment on March 7 supporting the Let’s Move! initiative. Blue Springs will tackle preventing childhood obesity from multiple angles, focusing on involvement of diverse segments in the community, collaboration, and measurable results. Many community partners, such as the school district, local hospital, YMCA, and the fire department have signed letters of commitment to the initiative.
New York City Gets Moving
We are delighted to report that a recent celebration of the first anniversary of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative in New York City, was a tremendous success!
California Celebrates the Let's Move! Anniversary
California's capitol city of Sacramento was the backdrop on February 8th for an exceptional and lively morning celebration on the one-year anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let's Move! Initiative.
The Farmers Market Promotion Program is Feeding Healthy Communities
Fresh, nutritious food is a cornerstone of a community’s physical health, but community health is more than physical well-being. A vibrant, healthy community encompasses both the well-being of consumers through improved health, and the well-being of producers through improved economic outcomes. Making this connection, and providing healthy, affordable food supplies, are goals of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative.
