Kids
First Lady Michelle Obama Celebrates the Success of Million PALA Challenge at Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play
Over the weekend, First Lady Michelle Obama joined children and families at Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play to celebrate the success of the Million PALA Challenge, a joint initiative of Let’s Move! and the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN).
Healthy School Meals Fuel S.W.A.G. and Success
Ed. Note: Cross-posted from the USDA blog.
In August I went back to school with students in Albany and Newton, Ga., to see how healthy school meals help students get their “S.W.A.G. on” and prepare for success.
In Albany, 400 Sherwood Acres Elementary Magnet School students celebrated school breakfast, many wearing S.W.A.G. t-shirts, which stands for “Students with Academic Greatness!”
Vanessa Hayes, Dougherty County Schools Director of Child Nutrition Services, explained, “We understand that good nutrition is the fuel for the educational vehicle.”
New Haven Schools Grow Healthy Kids with Access to Salad Bars and School Gardens
On September 27, 2011, New Haven Public Schools and Whole Foods Markets will host a Celebration of Salad Bars to highlight New Haven’s leadership and commitment to healthier school meals. With the goal of increasing students’ consumption of dark green and yellow-orange vegetables, New Haven Public Schools is celebrating the start of the new school year with salad bars in 43 of its 47 schools. Almost all of New Haven’s 20,000 students will have access to a salad bar every day. New Haven Public Schools received their first two salad bars from Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, a comprehensive grassroots public health effort to mobilize and engage stakeholders at the local, state, and national level to support salad bars in schools,last fall and the success was immediate.
US Tennis Association serves Ten-and-Under Tennis
First Lady Michelle Obama plays table tennis with a young participant in a Let's Move! event at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, New York, Sept. 9, 2011. Other participants include Serena Williams, John McEnroe, James Blake and Billie Jean King. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
On the sunniest of sunny days earlier this month at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Let's Move! was alive with action packed fun. The First Lady joined tennis greats Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, James Blake and Serena Williams in serving, lobbing and smashing tennis balls with children from the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program and the New York Junior Tennis League. The stars and First Lady kept up pretty well with the junior acers.
Tackling Childhood Obesity with Fuel Up to Play 60
Ed. Note: Cross-posted from the USDA blog.
As students across the country get back in school and we gear up for Monday Night Football, the Fuel Up to Play 60 program is ready for another action-packed year of nutrition and fitness events. An initiative that encourages kids of all ages to be healthy and active, the overall goal of the program is to tackle childhood obesity.
Erie, PA hosts “Let’s Move at the Playground”
Last month “The Erie on the Move Taskforce,” Erie, Pennsylvania’s local chapter of the Let’s Move! Campaign, hosted a day of fun at the Holland Street Playground in inner city Erie. Entitled “Let’s Move at the Playground,” it offered an opportunity for over 100 neighborhood kids to get out and move while bringing neighbors and community members together to enjoy one of Erie’s public parks.
The First Lady: "Everyone has a Role to Play in Making America Healthier"
This morning, First Lady Michelle Obama made the following statement on McDonald's Announcement:
Spotlight: Young Leader Robert Hsu Plants Gardens and Works on Health Education in His Community
Robert, an 18 year-old from Nova, Michigan, is a youth health advocate who is focused on creating a healthier future for youth in his community. After living through his grandmother’s struggles with diabetes, Robert felt compelled to enable others to live healthier lives through education, awareness, and advocacy. He has improved his school’s cafeteria, created a health committee that never existed at his school before, helped to start and fund two gardens in his school district, and hosted a public forum on youth health. He also taught health sessions at his local library, organized a heart health awareness day at school where he educated his peers at school about the importance of staying healthy, and organized a basketball tournament to raise money for heart disease research.
Memphis Kicks Off Let’s Move! With their new SAFE Zones
Last month, the City of Memphis, Tennessee officially kicked off their Let’s Move! Program. Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, Jr. along with over 170 children showed their support for the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative during a celebration and announcement event at the Hickory Hill Community Center. The event kicked off with Beyonce’s Let’s Move! flash workout led by scholars from Power Center Academy, which served as a great backdrop for Mayor Wharton’s unveiling of the city’s first SAFE Zone.
Ideas for Your Community
Let’s Move! is making great strides in our efforts to end childhood obesity, but we cannot reverse the current obesity trends without the the help of your communities and community leaders. To ensure a country where happy, healthy, lifestyles are the norm, community leaders have some of the biggest roles to play.
