Bronx Health REACH e-blast: May 4, 2011

The Bronx Forum: The Impact of Healthcare Reform on the Bronx – May 6th
CAUSE-NY and Hostos Community College is hosting a forum on how the Affordable Care Act will impact Bronx residents. Representatives from U.S. Dept of Health, Bronx Health Link, NYS Insurance Dept. and other community groups will be in attendance. The program will take place from 9 am to 12:30 pm on May 6th at Hostos Community College at 120 E. 149th St. in the Bronx. The registration fee is $20 and group discounts are available.


Teen Battle Chef Invitational – May 12th
FamilyCook Productions is holding its first benefit at the New York Institute of Technology’s auditorium on Broadway. The event kicks off at 6:30 pm with food prepared by NYC’s top chefs and the invitational will showcase the culinary talents and skills of high school students in FamilyCook programs across the Northeast. Tickets are on sale and start at $50 per person – the proceeds will benefit FamilyCook and help foster new culinary programs in schools and community centers.


The Faith and Earth Summit – May 13th
Faith Leaders for Environmental Justice and The Riverside Church of New York have designed a full day of workshops on May 13th from 9 am to 5 pm. Topics will include Greening Your Congregation, Practical Steps for Energy and Cost Saving, and Mobilizing Youth Groups. The summit will be held at Riverside Church (490 Riverside Drive). To register, go to: http://tinyurl.com/faithandearth or contact Sara Jones at sjones@nyfaithjustice.org or 212.870.1254.


New York Road Runners Youth Jamboree – May 15th
New York Road Runners invites kids ages 4 to 15 to join them for a fun and FREE day of running, jumping, and throwing at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island between 7:45 am and 4 pm. There is no cost of admission for youth or adults and every child who participates will receive a Youth Jamboree t-shirt and event ribbons. Boys and girls 5-10 years old will compete in the morning and events for youth 11-15 years old will take place in the afternoon. There will be a 55-meter race for 4-year-olds at 12:30 p.m. For more information on the Youth Jamboree or to download the registration forms and schedule, please go to www.nyrrf.org, e-mail jamboree@nyrr.org, or call 646.758.9675.


Walk with a Doctor – May 17th
The Committee for Interns and Residents is sponsoring an obesity themed walk-a-thon and health fair on Tuesday, May 17th between 4 pm and 7 pm at 2330 Eastchester Road in the Bronx. This is an opportunity to build relationships with healthcare providers and doctors and there will also be free giveaways, health screenings, and activities. Please contact Nagiane Lacka at nlacka@cirseiu.org for more information.


Fit City 6th Annual Conference – May 17th
The NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter is holding its 6th annual Fit City conference that will look at ways to address the childhood obesity epidemic through transformations in the built environment. This conference will bring together architects, planners, designers, developers, and public health professionals to address how building design and policy decisions can improve health outcomes in communities and help prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and asthma. The full day event will take place at the Center for Architecture at 536 LaGuardia Place. Advance registration is required, please go to http://cfa.aiany.org/index.php?section=calendar&evtid=2523 to register and for the full schedule.

American Community Gardening Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fighting Obesity Grant – due May 30th
ACGA and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are offering four $250 grants to programs that are fighting childhood obesity through their gardening program. The applicant is to submit a news article of three hundred words or less about what they are doing in their school/community garden to combat childhood obesity (can include up to three photos). The articles are due May 30th and will be published in the 2011 ACGA Greening Review. Please send or email articles to Bobby L. Wilson 1757 Washington Rd East Point, Georgia 30344 or bobbyw@uga.edu.


New York City smoking ban for parks and beaches goes into effect May 23
The smoking ban passed by the New York City Council in February will go into effect on May 23, prohibiting smoking in New York City parks, beaches and playgrounds. The ban will cover 1,400 parks and 14 miles of beaches citywide. Fines for smoking in these areas will start at $50.

Join Bronx Health REACH for World No Tobacco Day on May 31
Bronx Health REACH has been working with the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership in an effort to curtail the aggressive tobacco marketing to youth taking place in Bronx neighborhoods through signage and product placement in convenience stores. Read more about our recent activities here. Also, we invite all Bronx youth to take part in the World No Tobacco Day press conference and rally on Tuesday, May 31, at 3pm in Union Square Park in Manhattan. There, they can make their voices heard and tell Big Tobacco they have had enough.


New York 2 New Orleans
New York 2 New Orleans (NY2NO) is a youth-led non-for-profit that creates meaningful service-learning opportunities for NYC high school students in both New Orleans and New York. This summer NY2NO is launching its second consecutive "Food Justice Summer," that will include up to 5 trips to New Orleans, 5 New York based service-learning initiatives, as well as two summer sessions of their programs “Growing Youth Organizers', and the “Community Action Project”. The trips are still being planned but if interested please contact Alex Goldman at 917-656-1558.


Volunteer with City Harvest
City Harvest is looking for a long-term (4 month) volunteer to assist low-income residents in the South Bronx in accessing healthy seasonal food options as part of its Healthy Neighborhoods programming. City Harvest is New York’s only food rescue organization and is looking for a student, community resident, or anyone looking to gain some experience in the food systems change field to start in June. Please contact Tatiana Orlov at torlov@cityharvest.org if interested in applying.


NYC Green Cart Photo Exhibit - through July 10
The Museum of the City of New York is displaying a photo exhibit titled “Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce and the NYC Green Cart Program” that documents the Green Carts throughout NYC neighborhoods. The resulting photographs, in styles ranging from portraiture to landscape to street photography, capture not only the carts themselves, but also the stories of the vendors, customers, and their communities. The exhibit is running through July 10.