(back to Shape Up News Archive)
If you missed the April Coalition meeting, read the minutes online.
New on the website: 5 Minute Program Snapshots and Featured Presentations can be found under supporting documents on the Meeting Information page.
In this issue:
1. TV Turn Off Week: April 21-27
2. Children's Council 2nd Annual Nutrition Night: April 30
3. Healthy Saturdays in Golden Gate Park
4. First 5 See Me event: Sunday, May 4
5. Bret Harte Elementary school participating in Walk for Peace Walk-A-Thon: May 9, 2008
6. Bike to work day: May 15
7. Request For Proposals: "Health Promotion and Wellness - Bayview Hunter's Point and the Southeast Sector"
8. RWJF Report Emphasizes Benefits of Physical Education
9. Study Explores Relationship Between Neighborhood Characteristics, Obesity Prevalence
1) TV Turn Off Week: April 21-27 (back to top)
Kaiser Permanente is excited to promote TV Turnoff Week (April 21-27, 2008) again this year. As you may know, children today spend an average of 5 hours per day on TV, video games and the computer - well above the 1-2 hours recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Kaiser Permanente. Increased screen time takes a toll on our kids' health and is associated with increased weight and consumption of junk food, violent behavior, lower academic achievement, and alcohol and tobacco abuse.
TV Turnoff Week brings awareness to these issues and promotes healthy, fun alternatives to screen time for families. There are lots of great ways to promote TV Turnoff Week, such as signing TV Turnoff pledges, holding read-a-thons, or sponsoring a family fun night at a local park or recreation facility. So please encourage your schools and community partners to get involved.
Attached below please find a mini-poster as well as a TV Turnoff Toolkit (available in English and Spanish) that includes handouts for parents and teachers. Feel free to share these with your partner organizations and encourage them to participate in TV Turnoff Week. In addition we will be mailing you a pack of 250 TV Turnoff bookmarks for you to share with a partner school or group.
For more information please visit www.kp.org/tvturnoff
2) Children's Council 2nd Annual Nutrition Night (back to top)
Date: April 30
Time: 5-7 PM
Location: Sanchez Elementary School Auditorium (325 Sanchez St. @ 16th St.)
Description: Come and enjoy an evening of cooking demonstrations, nutrition education, arts and crafts, games, healthy recipes, fresh produce, local farmers, seed planting, physical activities, raffle prizes, and healthy food samples. If you have any questions, please call (415) 276-2929.
3) Healthy Saturdays in Golden Gate Park (back to top)
Come enjoy car-free space in Golden Gate Park from April thru September on JFK Drive between Tea Garden Dr. (near 8th Ave.) and Transverse Dr. Visit http://www.sfbike.org/?ggp for more information.
4) 2008 See Me Event on Sunday, May 4, 2008 (back to top)
Time: 11 AM to 3 PM
Location: Civic Center Plaza
Description:
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Stage performances all day including Puppet Shows, Clown and more!
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Take Home Science Projects & Hold Live Animals
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Arts & Crafts
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Story Telling
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Oral and Overall Health Screening for Children
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Jumpers & Popcorn
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Child Development & Parenting experts, resources and more!
5) Bret Harte Elementary participates in Walk for Peace Walk-A-Thon (back to top)
Bret Harte Elementary school, the site for our Shape Up Bayview Hunters Point garden project, is participating in a Walk for Peace Walk-A-Thon: May 9, 2008
Hello Friends,
I am writing this letter on behalf of the children at Bret HarteElementary School. Our school is located in the Bayview/Hunter's Point,a neighborhood in the Southeast section of San Francisco. More than75% of our students come from families that are currently enduringextreme economic hardship, thus are eligible to participate in theState sponsored free lunch program. In addition, the majority of ourfamilies reside in the local Government Housing Developments, includingAlice Griffith and Sunnydale. Our students all too often are witnessesof direct and indirect violence in the their own and surroundingcommunities. To combat this problem, we are currently participating ina Peace Project at school. Many activities, including field trips andin-school presentations have been organized for the year and are allcentered around peaceful solutions, peace in the home and peace withinourselves. A major element to our Peace Project is our first annualWalk For Peace Walk-A-Thon on Friday, May 9, 2008 at Candlestick Park. Our goal is to raise $25,000 to support enrichment programs for our students, including visual art, physical education, nutrition and gardening. Inaddition to raising much needed funds, the Walk-a-Thon also helpsdevelop a vital sense of community by bringing Bret Harte School'sfamilies together. This sense of community supports and strengthens theexcellent learning environment at Bret Harte Elementary School. Please visit our website at www.sfbretharte.org for more information and to make a contribution. Thank you so much for your support.
I hope this note finds you happy and healthy!
Benjamin Klaus
3rd Grade Teacher/Arts Coordinator
Bret Harte Elementary School
1035 Gilman Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94124
415-330-1520 - School
415-330-1555 - Fax
6) 511.0rg and Kaiser Permanente present Bike to Work Day: Thursday, May 15, 2008 (back to top)
Energizer stations, rides, events, maps, bike buddies, and free urban bike education
Enter to win prizes & join the Team Bike Challenge at 511.org
SF Cyclists - take the SF Bicycle Coalition Survey of Bicycling in SF: www.sfbike.org/reportcard
7) Request For Proposals: "Health Promotion and Wellness - Bayview Hunter's Point and the Southeast Sector" (back to top)
The Department of Public Health (DPH), Community Health Promotion and Prevention Branch, is requesting proposals from qualified agencies to submit proposals for expanding activities that will directly benefit and involve southeast sector neighborhood residents. Three broad service types are to be funded through this RFP: 1) Stress reduction and promotion of well being, 2) Nutrition education and 3) Complimentary and alternative healing. Services should reach a broad range of people not already served by similar initiatives, including community members of all ages, genders, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and physical and mental abilities. At least half or more of the services and activities must be provided on a grass-roots level, where community residents lead activities as lay health workers and receive practical and emotional support to do so. Proposals are due on or before 12 noon on May 23, 2008.
http://dphwww.sfdph.org/contracts/RFP102008/RFP102008p1.htm
8) RWJF Report Emphasizes Benefits of Physical Education (back to top)
Feb 7, 2008
Active Living Research (ALR) recently released a research brief highlighting evidence of the link between increased physical activity and improved academic performance among children, the Dunn County Newsreports. ALR, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that, although more than one-third of U.S. children and teens are considered overweight or obese, schools are increasingly replacing physical education with academic coursework in their push to improve standardized test scores. According to the report, just 3.8 percent of elementary schools currently offer daily P.E., and only 36 percent of high school students achieve recommended levels of physical activity. The report points out, however, that decreased P.E. time is not associated with improved academic performance. In fact, the report indicates that children who are physically active tend to perform at higher levels in the classroom and on standardized tests. In addition, active students exhibit fewer behavior problems and better concentration skills. Noting that "you can't have healthy minds without healthy bodies," U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) says the report underscores the "need to strengthen P.E. in America" (Dunn County News, 2/6/08; RWJF Active Living Research brief, Fall 2007).
9) Study Explores Relationship Between Neighborhood Characteristics, Obesity Prevalence (back to top)
Feb 11, 2008
A new study published in the journal Nutrition Reviews suggests that neighborhood characteristics, including income level, the built environment and access to healthy food, directly affect obesity prevalence, United Press International reports. New York University researchers analyzed the results of 90 studies published between 1997 and 2007 to develop a conceptual framework for assessing neighborhood-level determinants of obesity, including access to healthy foods and fitness opportunities, social influences and individual factors such as behavioral intentions. In reviewing the studies, the researchers determined that obesity rates were higher in neighborhoods with decreased economic and social resources. Residents of low-income urban neighborhoods also were more likely to report barriers to physical activity and poor access to stores that sell fresh, healthy food, particularly large supermarkets. While acknowledging that individual-level factors, such as income, cultural preferences and genetic predispositions, affect geographic obesity disparities, the researchers assert that "neighborhood-level services and structures that affect physical activity behaviors and dietary (United Press International, 2/8/08; Nutrition Reviews release, 2/10/08).
