Fit Town USA Town Hall

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On March 10^th and 11^th, HealthCorps® and Urban Zen Foundation brought together advocates for student preventive health to discuss solutions to America’s health crisis. The two-day talk featured HealthCorps students and principals, as well as Advisory Board Members and HealthCorps advocates, including Lisa Oz, Tara Guber, Dr. Brian Wansink, Dr. Mache Seibel, Dr. Stephen Josephson, Beth DeFuria and Lynn Fredericks. Donna Karan joined the last panel of the conference.

• Yong’s dance fitness presentations in public schools have ignited artistic creativity, movement, and engagement in even the most physically and emotionally shut-down children.
• Yong is reaching children of ALL ages with the JOY of movement and artistic expression.
• Yong’s unique presentations have successfully crossed gender, socioeconomic, racial, age, and cultural barriers.
• Yong’s unique presentations are serving a desperate need currently NOT being met by the status quo physical education curriculum…..relevance and FUN!
• Yong is proving that it is not just okay to party in school, but it is in fact, good for our children’s health! Learn her secrets of success

• In my experience as an art therapist I’ve observed that when a child is dealing with a distressing situation, they are less likely to communicate it verbally – but it all shows up in the art.
• Not only does art therapy provide a means of expression for children, but difficult issues can be “treated” through art-making even with little or no discussion.
• Art-making is balancing for children, I’ve seen kids approach a group sleepy only to wake-up and come alive during the art making process, conversely I’ve seen anxious kids calm down doing art.
• There is a sharing that takes place through group art making that occurs on a deep level. Art making is a wonderful way to develop trust and make connections that otherwise might not exist.
• I have practiced mental imagery with my daughter for the last 10 years in lieu of medical treatment and her pediatrician continues to be amazed at this phenomenon. Children can easily learn visualization techniques - I believe the imagination is an untapped resource for achieving physical and emotional health – and it’s FREE!

• Theresa advocates that high quality, accessible, and hands-on environmental education programs be made available for all students, especially those from underserved urban communities, so they too, see the environmental consequences of their choices and feel empowered to improve the environment in which they live.
• Theresa designs environmental, ecology-based curriculum that follow an experiential, hands-on approach to increase students’ conceptual understandings by linking the contents under study to the real world beyond the classroom. 
• Using the constructivist 5-E instructional model as a framework, Theresa will explain how this approach provides students with opportunities to discover, form inquiries, and construct their own understanding of in-depth science content.
• Theresa will explain how using an inquiry-based approach will help students make connections between past and present learning experiences, become active explorers of their environment, develop concepts, processes, and skills, and ultimately begin to think of learning as accumulated and evolving knowledge.
• Theresa will explain how incorporating inquiry-based environmental education across disciplines will create opportunities that support students’ ability to construct their own knowledge, ideas, and theories through exploration, debate, and critical thinking, and create learning experiences that will lead to their building autonomy and personal confidence.

• Young people are much more savvy about health disparities and access to healthy food than most adults realize.
• Young people are highly capable of sharing what they learn and mentoring others, given a chance and the necessary support
• Young people are very inspirational when they become passionate about societal issues and start advocating for change, and become involved in activities that empower others
• Young people are very cognizant of what motivates their peers and what messages turn them off
• Young people can be more effective communicators than adults for younger students, their peers and even adults!

• Developing a sense of purpose in children has been demonstrated to be directly related to their success in all aspects of life – health, academics, and relationships.
• An over-emphasis on short-term goals in public education (tests, grades, etc.) can increase anxiety and stress in children, while moving them away from finding ways to identify and share their gifts and strengths (SFK).
• SFK, as a social emotional learning program, provides children and youth with the skills to identify and manage their emotions – using educational techniques targeting all learning styles (games, art, writing, debate, role play); they see that in all situations they have the power to choose between caring and sharing or reactive behaviors.
• SFK helps children to recognize the inner gifts and skills in themselves and others – leading to increased self-efficacy and social skills.

• Yoga Ed. develops and produces health/wellness programs, trainings, and products for teachers, parents, children and health professionals, that improve academic achievement, physical fitness, emotional intelligence and stress management
• Through YogaEd students learn how to move gracefully, breathe smoothly and deeply, and sustain their focus and concentration, while developing strength, flexibility, balance, mental clarity and emotional stability for a lifetime of physical and mental health.
• Our goal for each child is not only the ability to maintain a balanced and integrated mind-body system, and to enjoy a lifetime of health and wellness, but also to develop the ability to make personally fulfilling and healthy choices.
• By using visualizations YogaEd teaches students to access personal information, programming and creativity. This time of relaxed listening supports yoga’s goal of self-awareness and encourages students to value their amazing inner lives and resources. 
• YogaEd games create imaginative play that empowers children to use physical, social and intellectual skills. Children develop focus, concentration, coordination, self-awareness, self-control and a trust in their own creativity and problem-solving skills. 

• Alexandra shares the ins-and-outs of do-able, daily, detoxified living.
• The plant based diet expert, Alexandra mentors professional women to look and feel their best.
• Delicious, healthy food can be easy and inexpensive, and Jamieson shares her best tips.
• Two-time author Alexandra Jamieson offers real-life advice on how to end cravings for good.
• As seen on Oprah, 30 Days, and Super Size Me, Alexandra Jamieson can relate to the everyday health challenges faced by American woman and moms.

• Kids are more unhappy than ever before and the reasons are somewhat obvious.
• Past efforts to curb this trend were an extension of America’s obsession with optimism and also ignored lifestyle behaviors.
• At our best, we can help kids identify goals and values so as to lead a more meaningful and productive life.
• We need to teach mindfulness techniques for dealing with negative thoughts and feelings and cultivate physical as well as emotional fitness.
• The goal is to teach our children that life is hard and full of frustration, but through perseverance and adopting an open, invitational posture toward all experience, life can be increasingly meaningful.

• Making cooking and nutrition education culturally-relevant.
• Using the existing environment and resources, such as community gardens, to educate about healthy and green living.
• Introducing yoga and stress management techniques to inner city youth and their parents.
• Tapping into the faith community to improve health awareness.
• Outreach and teaching techniques to more effectively change habits.

• Food Deserts across America have been identified by the CDC as one of the leading factors in the obesity crisis. The Here We Grow Food Pantry will address this problem.
• The Here We Grow Pantry will leverage existing non-profit efforts in communities to serve as a nexus for food equality efforts(Revolution Foods; HealthCorps)
• Chef King is bringing together some of the major trailblazers of the natural food industry to coalesce behind the Here We Grow Pantry- as opposed to the conventional food industry.
• Chef King will document the Here We Grow Pantry pilot in Los Angeles and Denver.
• Here We Grow Pantries will serve the local community beyond food equality by giving them opportunities for employment in the healthy food industry as well as training teenager to become healthy chefs.

• Why I founded Growing Chefs: looking at healthy food from field to fork.
• Start with the soil: good farming practices as integral to nutritious produce, a healthy ecosystem, and a sustainable food system.
• Growing your own: why gardening matters.
• Kids and plants: successful techniques in engaging children and young adults in farm-based education.
• The urban farm landscape: Eagle Street Rooftop Farm as a green roof, farm, and educational space.

• We employ a multi-disciplinary approach to teen health and wellness.
• We are currently engaged in a project wherein our students develop graphic design posters and PSA films to highlight issues surrounding the relationship between consumerism and marketing and teen health/wellness.
• We also have created our own original films related to social and emotional topics around teen health, including films on: teen pregnancy, peer pressure, and violence.
• We utilize the Department of Education’s FitnessGram program which measures student data in areas of physical fitness and then works with students to track progress over time.
• Included in our curriculum is not only a high quality Physical Education curriculum, but the offerings of a myriad of Health/Wellness electives, including: boxing, African dance, weightlifting, and yoga

• Discuss how music has been used to educate/teach historically
• Discuss the use of music in advertising
• Overview of science relating music and the brain
• Overview of how music is used to teach health literacy internationally
• Demonstrate examples of how HealthRock is using music to reframe health education

• I will share examples of how the Hip-Hop Generation is transforming Education & Curriculum.
• I will share a unique multi-media project developed by the young people of BCAM.
• I will discuss how providing expressive outlets for youth, transforms lives.

• Will discuss the vital role played by a family’s “nutritional gatekeeper
• Will reveal low-cost changes schools can implement to improve their lunchrooms and help nudge kids to make healthier food choices
• Will share proven environmental strategies to improve food choices parents and children make
• Will demonstrate how renaming healthy foods can increase their appeal to children
• Will illustrate how to take more control over the more than 200 food decisions we all unknowingly make each day

• People tend to forget about transportation and travel when exploring going green – which should be huge part of the conversation.            
• We can point out some simple changes that students and teachers can make which can have big impacts on health and the environment.
• Daily commutes are a great thing to study and change because we do them every day.
• Cities are at the forefront of this exciting environmental change – New York City leads the way!
• Citizens can demand changes to their built environments to make places and streets more livable and healthy – just look at Times Square
• By working with youth around issues of how they get around town, you can help them “go green” while becoming more healthy
• Encouraging walking and biking are two quick and easy ways to bring healthy living into a young persons life
• Students and teachers can advocate for a better built environment around their schools so that their streets can be livable, friendly places
• Only 13 percent of American school children walked or biked to school in 2000 – as opposed to 66 percent in 1974. By limiting car use around schools (especially idling), asthma rates decrease significantly

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