The Poe Center attends the North Carolina Healthy Schools Conference
The Poe Center attends the North Carolina Healthy Schools Conference
On June 14, 2013, the Poe Center was honored to be included in the North Carolina Healthy Schools Conference www.nchealthyschools.org at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. Thomas Ray and Lauren McCallum presented on Media Smart Youth www.nichd.nih.gov/msy, an exciting media awareness program for middle school youth that increases awareness of the effect media can have on nutrition and physical activity choices. The Poe Center has implemented three Media Smart Youth series in the Raleigh-Durham area this year and look forward to continuing to educate and promote the Media Smart Youth program during 2013-2014.
Ann Rollins, Poe Center Executive Director, presented Empowering for Success: Home–School–Community; a session on promoting and encouraging parent involvement in schools. Poe staff attended other conference sessions, one of which promoted a new website encouraging nutrition and physical activity awareness www.ahealthiernc.com. How to Stay Positive and Teach Students to do the Same: The Health Benefits was a workshop demonstrating a research-based program on how to release “victim mentality”. The final presentation at the conference was done by students from the Lincoln Charter School Jr. Leadership Institute who expressed that the highlight of their years’ program experience had been visiting the Poe Center for Health Education for programming during the summer of 2012!!.
Rising Levels of Obesity in North Carolina
Rising Levels of Obesity in North Carolina
In North Carolina, approximately 67% of adults and 30% of children ages 10 to 17 are overweight and obese. In direct response to such alarming statistics, Eat Smart Move More NC (ESMMNC) recently released its plan to address the rising levels of obesity in our state.
ESMMNC’s target objective is to reduce obesity in North Carolina by 0.5% per year from 2013 to 2020. A long-term supporter and partner of ESMMNC, the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education (Poe Center) will help ESMMNC in meeting their target objectives through their mission-driven work: the creation and delivery of universal health education programming to North Carolina children, youth and their families.
In collaboration with ESMMNC’s leadership team, the Poe Center will help reverse the tide of childhood and adult obesity statewide by providing children (pre-K through 12th grade) and their parents and caregivers, with educational programs focused on positive nutrition, MyPlate and regular physical activity. Poe’s Health Educators welcome visitors to Poe’s Sunnybrook Road facility and travel far and wide to ensure that all North Carolinians have access to the information they NEED to make positive health and lifestyle choices.
Poe’s biggest lesson: obesity and other chronic diseases are preventable! Poe’s goal: to reach North Carolinians from preconception through adulthood to ensure that our age-appropriate, scientifically-based programs are reinforced at critical points throughout the lifespan. Good health is never a one-time lesson. Instead, we focus on the importance of ongoing learning to strengthen messages and increase the likelihood that our participants will develop as healthy as possible.
Our Health Educators work diligently to enhance current programs as well as offering new programs that are relevant to today’s society. So follow us (FB/Twitter) as we lock arms with organizations like Eat Smart Move More NC to conquer this costly public health problem head on by acknowledging challenges while focusing on solutions! To read more about this movement visit http://www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com and www.poehealth.org to learn more about the highlighted programs for Spring and Summer 2013.
Dig In! to Growing Fresh, Local Food in Communities Across Wake County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michele McKinley
mmckinley@wakemed.org
919.656.8842
Dig In! to Growing Fresh, Local Food in Communities Across Wake County
March 9 Workshop in Raleigh
RALEIGH— Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) presents Dig In! on Saturday, March 9, 8:30 am-1:00 pm at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh to educate and inspire Wake County residents, businesses, and governments to grow fresh, healthy food.
Dig In! features urban agriculture and community garden experts teaching workshops to educate anyone who wants to build a community or school garden, and for city planners and municipal leaders to learn how edible landscapes can transform communities. Registration ($10 per person) is now open online at www.advocatesforhealthinaction, but space is limited.
Dig In! will feature an opening session plus workshops in three tracks:
- Community Gardens—for anyone who wants to start an edible community garden at church, work, neighborhoods and other sites
- School/Child Care Gardens—for school and child care center staff, as well as parents, who want to start an edible garden
- Edible Cityscapes & Landscapes—for elected officials, city planners, parks and recreation staff, and other municipal leaders and volunteers or advocates
Educational booths hosted by a variety of organizations and schools also will provide education and inspiration.
“Community gardens are sprouting and thriving throughout Wake County for people who want to grow healthy, local food, and urban agriculture is starting to take root as well,” said Sheree Vodicka, AHA director. “Dig In! provides a wealth of information and resources for those who want to take part in this growing movement."
New this year is the track on urban agriculture. “The focus on urban agriculture comes at a time when the economic climate has brought food insecurity to an all-time high, and concern about access to food has been heightened by the closings of two major grocery stores in Southeast Raleigh, making an existing food desert even more of a problem for residents who live there. We are hopeful that not only Raleigh, but Wake County’s other municipalities can find ways to capitalize on the excitement around sustainable food systems that connect people with where their food comes from, and promote healthy communities,” Vodicka added.
Concurrent workshops across the three tracks will provide attendees with information on considerations when starting gardens, designing gardens, how teachers from pre-K through grade 12 are incorporating gardens into curriculum, best practices in planning and zoning to foster urban ag and community gardens, and more.
About Advocates for Health in Action
Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) fosters and supports community efforts to make healthy eating and physical activity the way of life in Wake County. The AHA collaborative of more than 60 diverse organizations and community members works to achieve this mission by shaping policies and environments that ensure affordable access to healthful foods and physical activity. For more information, visit AHA online at www.advocatesforhealthinaction.org, follow AHA on Twitter @WakeAHA or on Facebook.
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In Memory of Faye Lee Miller
In Memory of Faye Lee Miller
Our deepest sympathies go out to family members and dear friends of Faye Lee Miller who passed away on Tuesday, January 22, 2013. The Poe Center cannot express enough how much we valued and appreciated the work and generosity of Faye Lee Miller, one of our organization’s founding patrons. Faye was instrumental in the building of the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education’s Sunnybrook Road facility in Raleigh. The Poe Center established the annual Faye L. Miller Service Award to honor Faye’s commitment to the health and well-being of North Carolina children, youth and their families.
Memorials may be made to the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education (224 Sunnybrook Road, Raleigh NC 27610), White Memorial Presbyterian Church (1704 Oberlin Road, Raleigh, NC 27608), and Hospice of Wake County (250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh NC 27607).
Read Complete Obituary
Health Advocates to Award Schools for Wellness Initiatives
Free Jan. 10 Workshop on Brains and Bodies Award Program Plus Safe Routes to School
Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) invite parents, teachers and school staff to attend its January 10, 2013 Brains and Bodies Workshop, Destination School: Starting a Safe Routes to School Program, Plus 2013 Brains and Bodies Award Information Session. This interactive workshop is being held from 10 am-12 pm at Bond Park Community Center in Cary and is open to school staff and parents. Please pre-register for this FREE workshop at www. AdvocatesForHealthInAction.org.
Participants will receive valuable information from Ed Johnson, N.C. Safe Routes to School Coordinator, about how to encourage walking and biking to school and learn about the tools and resources available nationally and locally to put such a program in place here in Wake County.
AHA staff and Shauvon Simmons-Wright of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation will highlight how the Alliance’s healthy school assessment framework fits into the AHA Brains and Bodies Award Program for all private and public elementary, middle and high schools in Wake County. Any schools who are considering applying for the award won't want to miss this useful information session!
AHA developed its Brains and Bodies Workshop Series to provide parents, teachers and administrators with the knowledge and resources to create a healthier school. On March 19, AHA will host the final workshop for this school year, “Physical Activity Rocks!” at Martin St. Baptist Church in Raleigh, from 6-8 pm.