Success Stories
Success Story: After Walk to School Month, Let’s Keep Moving
As an incredible Walk to School Month comes to an end, a record-breaking number of communities – over 3,500 – from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico celebrated an active trip to school in October 2010. The challenge - and opportunity - for all American families is to continue that excitement and focus on getting out and moving more each day, every day. Not just during the official month of celebration.
USDA Teams up with Horton’s Kids to Fight Childhood Obesity
In the ongoing fight against childhood obesity, First Lady Michelle Obama started the Let’s Move! campaign to help children be more physically fit and conscious of the food they eat. To help promote this initiative, employees from USDA and other federal agencies recently teamed up with the local non-profit Horton’s Kids, an organization recognized for its programs aiming to improve the lives of Washington, D.C. kids.
“Healthy Foods Here” in Seattle
Before this summer, Seattle’s High Point neighborhood had limited access to healthy food. Fresh fruits and vegetables were particularly hard for residents of this mixed income neighborhood to find close to home. In July, an organization of High Point residents decided to take action.
Success Story: "Mother Of Many" Partners With Los Angeles High Schools
It all began in 2008 when I saw how much fun students from Dorsey High School’s Culinary Arts Program had preparing healthy meals for election volunteers. As the founder and Executive Director of the non‐profit educational organization, Mother Of Many (M.O.M.), I decided to partner with Dorsey’s culinary instructor Erevetta Marzette in 2009 and created the student‐produced “Cooking Live With Dorsey High,” a WebTV healthy food series. Inspiring a move towards healthy cooking and eating seemed completely possible within one school. I never imagined, however, that Cooking Live with Dorsey High would bring rival high schools together in the spirit of “healthy eating!”
Success Story: Healthy Kids, The Washington Jesuit Academy Way
Let’s Move! has certainly touched on a nerve in this country. And a good nerve it is. I just got finished teaching my 7th grade Health and Wellness class where we discussed Body Mass Index and calculated the BMI numbers for each student. When I asked the question, “Why should we know and keep track of our BMI?”, two answers stood out. One boy responded, “because we need to be aware of our bodies so we can help prevent conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and strokes.” Impressive for a 7th grader. The second answer was a fun one. His response was “because I think it is part of Let’s Move!”. People are listening. Even 7th grade boys from Washington Jesuit Academy.
Moving Outside in Mississippi!
Families in Natchez, Mississippi know how to get moving outside, and make the most of the special places in their community. The Mississippi River Connections Collaboration, which includes the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service, recently hosted “Let’s Move Outside Southwest Mississippi,” a daylong celebration of healthy, outdoor recreation. Hundreds of people from Adams and surrounding counties came to Natchez – a city of roughly 20,000 people along the Mississippi River – to participate in multiple activities and explore the area’s famous historical sites.
Nature Champions Reach out to America’s Children
I recently attended a workshop held by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) to educate pediatric health care providers about prescribing outdoor activities to children and families as part of their Children and Nature Initiative. As a pediatrician working in Washington, DC, I see many patients that face chronic illness as a direct consequence of childhood obesity. Many of today’s children have become creatures of the indoors, spending countless hours in front of TV and computer screens, to the detriment of their physical and mental health.
Chicago: Where Chefs Move to Schools Works!
Chicago has long been known as the City that Works. And a recent event related to the First Lady’s Chefs Move to Schools initiative proved that the city still lives up to its name.
Success Story: Adaptive Sports Programs Encourage Physical Activity for All
Getting our daily recommended physical activity (60 minutes/day for youth, 30 minutes/day for adults) is important – it’s important whether we live in the city, in the suburbs, or in a rural setting. It’s important whether we run fast or slow, whether we’re big, tall, short or small. And it’s important if we are able bodied or if we have a disability.
Success Story: How Eden Place Nature Center Became the Community’s Outdoor Garden and Play Space
Twenty years ago the neighborhood where Chicago's Eden Place Nature Center now sits lingered in pollution and lead poisoning caused by freight trains to the West, idling long hours next to their homes, and the Dan Ryan Expressway to the East, whose heavy volume of cars spewing leaded gas contributed to dense air and toxic soil for residents. Seeing residents become accustomed to the resulting health issues – including severe asthma and numerous tracheotomies, community activists decided the air pollution and illegal dumping on the vacant lots needed to stop.
