Catalyst Fund Aims to Curb Childhood Obesity
Community Foundation Awards $10,000 Grant to Visiting Nurse Association of Central Connecticut’s HIP HOP Program
Today’s American youth are considered the most inactive generation in history. The American Obesity Association reports that more than 30 percent of children ages 6-11 are overweight, while more than 15 percent are obese. This troubling trend has led to a host of children’s health problems previously associated only with adults, including diabetes and hypertension.
Thanks to a grant from the Catalyst Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, a new interactive program will directly address this emerging health crisis at the local level by helping area children make healthy choices for nutrition and fitness.
The Catalyst Fund has awarded $10,000 to Visiting Nurse Association of Central Connecticut, Inc. (VNACC) for its HIP HOP Program (Healthy Informed Proud Healthy Outlook Project). The HIP HOP Program will identify area children ages 5-13 at high risk for diabetes or other medical complications and enroll them in fun, interactive, monthly workshops where they will learn to live a healthier lifestyle.
The program is targeting a total of 50 children for enrollment, according to Karen Pagliaro of VNACC.
“Lifestyle is the key to preventing these health problems in children,” said Pagliaro. “Participants will learn how changes in their eating and exercise habits can result in improved overall health and energy levels. We expect a decreased risk of early-onset diabetes, improvements in physical fitness, and healthier eating habits and lifestyle choices.”
With the aid of the Foundation funding, HIP HOP paraprofessionals will conduct outreach in neighborhoods, public housing projects, schools, community centers and after-school programs to identify children at risk for obesity. Baseline data will be reviewed, risk assessment completed and nutritional behavior patterns established for each participant, including living environment, health history, physical limitations, oral hygiene, hobbies and activities.
Children selected will participate in monthly, hour-long workshops in a culturally sensitive, fun and interactive environment. They will learn about healthy food choices, the dangers of obesity, and will be engaged in a variety of physical activities with the aid of a physical therapist stressing the importance of exercise. Food/activity diaries, healthy snacks, cooking classes and field trips to local grocery stores will all be part of the experience. Each session will end with a half hour hip hop dance class.
“Throughout the program, children will be encouraged to report on how they have made positive changes in their lifestyles,” said Pagliaro. She added that parents, grandparents and/or caretakers will be invited to stay for the educational sessions and encouraged to help their children with the diaries and in changing their lifestyles.
The Catalyst Fund, created in 2003 with the support of the Robert C. Vance Foundation, encourages broad citizen participation in the philanthropic process. Catalyst Fund participants annually select a charitable focus, convene educational sessions to learn about their issue and, at the end of each year, choose a recipient specializing in the issue of choice to receive a grant. The Fund’s 2006 issue was children’s nutrition. Webster Bank donated a portion of this year’s grant.
“As our Catalyst Fund members gathered this year and learned about current issues and challenges in children’s nutrition, it became clear to us that the childhood obesity crisis was an area we wanted to focus on,” said Phyllis Kindelan of Berlin, chair of the Foundation’s Catalyst Fund Steering Committee. “We are so pleased that the VNACC, with its HIP HOP Program, is tackling this issue head on, and we are proud to support their efforts.”
Established in 1941, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain connects donors who care with causes that matter in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. It does this by raising resources and developing partnerships that make a measurable improvement in the quality of life in each of these communities.
For more information on the Foundation and how to become involved in the Catalyst Fund, call (860) 229-6018 or visit www.cfgnb.org.
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