Healthy Weight News

Turn a park walk into an outdoor adventure for children with A Closer Look, a new series of 12 etched, metal plates featuring images of native plants and animals along 1.25 miles of trails at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Families can search for each unique plate and make their own plate rubbings along the way. A helpful guide, LOOK FOR ME, is available at the museum.  Just remember to bring along paper and crayons!

The Hands-On Health team at the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is helping build a community garden at Alliance Medical Ministry. Will Allen, founder and CEO of Growing Power Inc., helped the Food Shuttle kick off the new garden in early April 2010. The John Rex Endowment supports the community gardens through the Hands-On Health project which is funded by the Healthy Weight Initiative.

The Ballroom Dance Club at Washington GT Magnet Elementary received a visit from WRAL-TV Anchor Renee Chou as they practiced for a spring celebration waltz performance. See the story and video on WRAL.com. The dance club is part of Washington Elementary’s CREATE program which is supported by a three-year Wake to Wellness grant from the John Rex Endowment through the Healthy Weight Initiative.

Dig In!, a community gardening event planned by Advocates for Health in Action (AHA), attracted 170 people to Marbles Kids Museum Saturday, April 17 to learn about building, maintaining and sustaining neighborhood, faith-based, business, non-profit and school gardens.

Get moving at Cary’s Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival Saturday, April 24, 9 am to 5 pm, at Fred G. Bond Metro Park. The 2010 festival includes a Fitness Trail with stops along the way featuring activities for all ages.  The first 600 visitors to the Fitness Stop near the information tent receive a free pedometer as part of the Fit Cary Pedometer Challenge.  The free pedometers and Fitness Stops have been incorporated into Spring Daze as part of an Active Communities and Neighborhoods grant from the John Rex Endowment.

Fresh food, fresh air, a refreshing lifestyle – no matter what you enjoy most about gardening, community gardens improve the quality of life of everyone who digs in. Learn how to start, maintain, manage and enjoy the wonderful benefits of building a sustainable garden in your neighborhood, work place, school or worship group.   

The event is Saturday, April 17, 9 am to 12:30 pm at Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. FREE! (admission to the museum is separate)

Power2Play gets kids moving as they pedal, skate, leap and climb their way through hands-on nutritional activities and learn about muscles, bones, heart rates and healthy food choices. The exhibit is part of a Healthy Active Families Initiative at Marbles Kids Museum which is supported by the John Rex Endowment.  Watch the video on WRAL.com

Zebulon Elementary GT Magnet School kicked off the year on the right foot with a fun, interactive evening of apple-crunching, jump roping, wall climbing and plenty of opportunities to get moving at the school’s first-ever health fair. The action-packed event was planned as part of the school’s CAPOW (Cougars Are Pursuing Overall Wellness) program, which is funded by a three-year Wake to Wellness grant through the John Rex Endowment’s Healthy Weight Initiative.

A recent article, “New Growth for Inter-Faith Food Shuttle,” in Midtown Magazine highlights progress made by bringing together anti-hunger initiatives with local food movements through Hands on Health, a three-year grant project funded through the John Rex Endowment’s Healthy Weight Initiative. 

Putting Wake to Wellness grant funds to good use, Farmington Woods Elementary rounded out their gym's design with the addition of new rowing machines which are used by all students.