Bronx Health REACH Awarded Tobacco Control Grant
Bronx Health REACH has been awarded a $20,000 mini-grant from Public Health Solutions, Inc. to work with the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership on tobacco control and prevention in our target schools and surrounding communities. The focus will be on educating parents and school staff about the problem of tobacco in the south Bronx, especially the many point-of-sale (POS) tobacco outlets near the school buildings.
UFT Unveils Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities Initiative
On December 2, 2010, the United Federation of Teachers, a Bronx Health REACH Legacy grantee, unveiled their new “Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities” initiative. The event kicked off with a humorous and educational skit by UFT staff, who demonstrated a clever way that teachers could integrate nutrition education into the school day. Through UFT’s new initiative, 13 Bronx schools have committed to bringing the Food Bank for New York City’s Cookshop program to students and their families. Cookshop for Classroom will be implemented in at least five classes in each participating school, and parents at the schools can choose to attend a 6-week Cookshop for Families program. Additionally, at least six classes in each school will also implement Move to Improve, educational physical activity exercises which can be done in the classroom. The full story is available in the online version of UFT’s newspaper, New York Teacher, here.
Virginia Legacy Project Grantee Awarded Funding for Nationals Women’s Health Week Event
The Virginia REACH Faith Based Outreach Initiative, a Bronx Health REACH Legacy grantee, received an award from John Snow, Inc and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women’s Health. The award will be used to implement Fine, Fit, and Fabulous at churches of the Virginia REACH Faith Based Outreach Initiative in conjunction with National Women’s Health Week next May. Congratulations to the Virginia REACH Faith Based Outreach Initiative and to former Bronx Health REACH health coordinator Margie Callahan who leads the project!
NY Faith & Justice: Food Justice Working Groups
NY Faith & Justice is beginning to hold meetings for its Food Justice Working Groups. These include:
Business Outreach – Will focus on getting businesses to support various health promotion programs around New York City
Farm Bill – Will focus on shifting federal subsidies to support the growth of a wider variety of fruit and vegetable crops
Community Engagement – Will develop creative ways to engage faith communities, schools, and community groups in activities to improve the health of NYC neighborhoods, such as helping communities start co-ops, community gardens, or band together to develop centralized CSA's (Community Sponsored Agriculture projects)
Food and Voter Education – Will educate faith communities and community groups on political leaders' positions regarding food and health issues and inform people about how they can take individual and organizational responsibility to make healthy food choices
Incentives to Purchase Healthy Foods – Will call on NYC policy-makers to incentivize the purchase of healthy food for people receiving government assistance
Living Wage for Food Workers – Will join a larger city-wide effort to pass a Living Wage Bill in New York City and ensure that food workers are a part of this bill
-For more information, visit here. To register for a Working Group, please contact Stephen Tickner at stickner@nyfaithjustice.org or (917) 628-5131.
Nutrition & Fitness Workgroup meeting: January 13, 2011
The first Nutrition & Fitness Workgroup meeting of 2011 will be held Thursday, January 13th. During the first half of the meeting, we will focus on our school policy work with an open discussion of relevant strategies for bolstering school wellness policies at the building, district, and citywide levels. There will also be a presentation on organizing and facilitating parent advocacy trainings on school food. The second half of the meeting will examine next steps for our bodega/social marketing project and the expansion of the afterschool initiative.
Date: Thursday, January 13, 2011
Time: 1:00-3:00pm
Location: Morrisania Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Room 214
1225 Gerard Avenue, Bronx, NY 10452
NYC Strategic Alliance for Health- 2011 Excellence in School Wellness Award
The Strategic Alliance for Health has released the 2011 Excellence in School Wellness Award. Elementary school principals in the Bronx (Districts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12), Northern Manhattan (Districts 3, 4, 5, & 6), and North & Central Brooklyn (13, 14, 16, 19, 23, & 32) have been invited to complete the application. Anyone can access the application at http://www.nycsafh.org/news/2011-excellence-school-wellness-award-application-documentation-guide. Please contact the Strategic Alliance for Health at info@nycsafh.org if you have any questions. They will provide technical assistance on the completion of this application until March 31st, and applications are due April 22.
NYAM Obesity Prevention Symposium: January 20th
On January 20th, local advocates, public health practitioners, and researchers will come together to present to policymakers their best suggestions and specific strategies for how to stop the epidemic of obesity in New York’s low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. One of the speakers will be Steve Ritz, who will describe his successful use of Green Living Technologies to grow organic vegetables within the classroom and the community setting. This event is open to the public; please find the agenda and registration information at http://www.nyam.org/events/2011/2011-01-20-02.html
Date: Thursday, January 20, 2011
Time: 10:30am-2:00pm
Location: The New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St, New York, NY 10029
Green Living Technologies Training: January 15-17th
From January 15-17, Green Living Technologies (GLT) will be holding a training session on the use of green roofs and green walls in schools and within communities. Those who receive the training will become certified to bring the technology to schools/organizations to grow vegetables that can be sold on school campuses during the school year, as well as serve as a professional job opportunity for youth throughout the summer. Steve Ritz and GLT are offering to host and pay for the certification and training of teams of four students, as long as at least one adult advisor registers for the training, which is $750. For more information, visit the “training” link of www.agreenroof.com, or contact Kelly Moltzen (kmoltzen@institute2000.org) or Steve Ritz (SNL978@aol.com).
NYC Nutrition Education Network General Meeting: January 20th
On January 20th, NYCNEN will hold its second general meeting of the year, which will be an informative session on: “Why Aren't You Listening? Promoting Behavior Change in Individuals, Groups & Organizations.” Speakers will provide insight into the nation-wide Healthy Monday Campaign, discuss techniques to engage people in the topic of nutrition in group settings, and provide attendees with an interactive session on motivational interviewing.
Date: Thursday, January 20th, 2010
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: The New School, 66 West 12th Street, 5th Floor, Room 509
Free for NYCNEN members, $5 for non-members. Space is limited! Please RSVP mindfully by sending your name & organization to: nycnenadmin@gmail.com
Making Child Nutrition Reauthorization Work for Your Community
The Food Resource and Action Center has created a webinar to explain how the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 will affect groups and individuals at the community level. This webinar is available here. If you would like a two-page briefing on what this bill means for schools, please email Sigrid Aarons at saarons@institute2000.org.
Employee Wellness & the Institute for Family Health
For the latest edition of the Institute for Family Health’s “Our Health Newsletter,” email Kelly at kmoltzen@institute2000.org. Here you will find personal stories about how several Institute employees successfully implemented change in their lives to improve their health and fitness. The Institute’s Chief Nutritionist, Jaime Schehr, ND, RD, shares some valuable tips on staying healthy during the winter months. There are some healthy recipe choices included in the newsletter as well. The newsletter represents the Institute’s renewed focus on worksite wellness. Employees are being encouraged to adopt and exemplify a healthy lifestyle for our patients. One of the Institute for Family Health’s physicians, Linda Prine MD, bikes to work and was recently featured in StreetsBlog.org for a letter she wrote to the City Council requesting more bike lanes so that New Yorkers can attain more physical activity by biking to work safely.
Health Disparity Workgroup Updates
The Bronx Health REACH Health Disparity Workgroup meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month at 1:30 at the Cosmopolitan Church of the Lord Jesus located at 39 West 190thStreet. Because of a snow forecast, the next meeting was re-scheduled for January 19th, 2011. We will be updating people on the City Council Resolution and the recruitment of sponsors for the re-introduction of the Health Equality Bill in Albany, both of which request quality outpatient care for patients of academic medical centers regardless of source of payment.
Upcoming Bronx Health REACH Coalition Meeting
Date: February 18, 2011
Time: 9:30am-12:00pm
Location: Walker Memorial Baptist Church
120 East 169th Street, Bronx, New York 10452
Please RSVP to Yvette Holland at yholland@institute2000.org or (212) 633-0800 ext 1232.
