Parent Leaders Complete Intensive School Wellness Training
Training Brings Together African-American and Latino Parents to Combat Health Disparities
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| Parents United leaders Jovita Flores and Idida Perez congratulate Gloria Harris of Howe School as she completes the four-part School Wellness Leadership Training |
Forty parents from Chicago’s African-American and Latino communities graduated from the intensive four-part School Wellness Training hosted by Parents United for Healthy Schools / Padres Unidos para Escuelas Saludables on Aug. 14.
Elected officials – including Rep. Mary Flowers, Ald. Ed Smith, and Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle – addressed the parents at each day of the training, thanking them for the work they are doing to improve student health and combat health disparities in Chicago’s communities. Children in Latino and African-American communities suffer disproportionately high rates of asthma and obesity, making intervention in schools especially important.
The group was bolstered by presentations highlighting successes and lessons from last year’s graduates, who went on to form 15 school wellness teams that are now making changes to support nutrition and physical activity in schools serving thousands of children.
Parents United leaders presented a new model detailing the four phases of a successful school wellness team, developed based on the experiences of last year’s graduates as they became the first leaders to establish teams.
“The model is a huge step forward in our understanding of how parents can systematically make change for healthy schools,” said HSC’s Guillermo Gomez. “We often hear that this type of change is overwhelming – but the model shows that it’s something we can accomplish one step at a time.”
Parents United leaders adapted the training, originally developed to address the needs and concerns of Latino immigrant parents, to include the challenges and opportunities facing parents in Chicago’s African-American communities.
Jeannette Beaton of the Grand Boulevard Federation, an outreach organization based in the primarily African-American community of Bronzeville, said that her interest in the training came from her concern for the high levels of obesity and inactivity she sees in her neighborhood’s children. Her hope, she said, is that changes in the food available at school – combined with “lessons about eating right” – will lead to changes at home as well as school. Children, she explained, have a way of effectively bringing wellness messages to their parents.
“We’re so focused on their well-being that we take notice when they start talking about being healthy,” she said, explaining that the motivation to do the hard work necessary to create change stems from that concern for children’s health. “You become passionate about it when it becomes personal.”
The training was filmed by the news station Univision and will be documented in a national health program to air later in Fall 2008.
To learn more about Parents United for Healthy Schools, contact HSC’s Guillermo Gomez.
HSC Welcomes New Cooking up Change Judges, Sponsors and Host Committee Members
Carol Mosely Braun to Serve as Cooking Contest Judge
HSC is pleased to announce that Ambassador Carol Mosely Braun, the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate, will serve as a judge of the Cooking up Change Healthy Cooking Contest.
Members of the judging panel donate their time, talent and taste buds to the challenging task of choosing winners among the delicious and healthy school meals that students create for the competition.
We are also pleased to welcome a growing team of generous sponsors and host committee members for Cooking up Change. The benefit will take place on Oct. 23 at Salvage One.
Learn more or get involved as a sponsor or host committee member!
HSC Athletics Team Offers Bibs for ING New York City Marathon
No Lottery Required for Bibs in Prestigious Marathon
HSC has only three bibs remaining for the prestigious ING New York City Marathon. Registering for this race usually requires a lottery in which only a percentage of interested runners are able to register. Running for HSC guarantees your entry into this exciting race!
To learn more or join the team, visit www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/marathon or contact Allison Krass at 312-560-4994.
Thanks to Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s weekly news quiz show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! for serving as our Honorary Team Captain.
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