Friday, June 5, 2009

Catch the Wave...Healthy Girls Summer Programs!

Girls ages 8 -14 going to summer camp at the Englewood YMCA, Venice YMCA, North Port Boys & Girls Club, Venice Boys & Girls Club, and Laurel Civic Association (both the summer camp and the Teen Empowerment program) can look forward to the Healthy Girls Summer Program! The program consists of five sessions. Each summer camp will have two complete programs offered, one for older girls and one for younger girls. The programs all include: nutrition education, physical activity, emotional/mental wellness lessons and an emphasis on environmental health.

If you know of a girl who is not in any of the named summer camps, Healthy Girls Initiative can bring the Healthy Girls Summer Program your way! We can offer a one-time workshop or a one-week, five-session program for your summer camp, church youth group, or community center. Simply contact Healthy Girls Initiative Program Specialist Julia Onnie-Hay for more information at (941) 921-5358 ext. 319 or juliao@gsgcf.org.

Another GREAT way to get your summer off to a healthy start is to attend the Healthy Girls Wellness Fair being held on Saturday, June 20th from 11:00am to 3:00pm at the Venice Girl Scout House located at 1775 E. Venice Avenue, Venice, FL 34292. Smoothies and other healthy food will be available to fuel girls and their friends and families for participating in fun games, crafts and activities that promote holistic health.

OR, for those of you in the Englewood community, the Task Force girls will be hosting Beach Yoga & Trash Clean-Ups at Middle Beach every Saturday morning from 7:30am to 9:00am by the pavilion. Simply show up and wear comfy clothing. Bring a beach towel to use as a beach-friendly yoga mat. No experience with yoga or ANY exercise needed! 


Want more Healthy Girls Initiative online? Visit: http://www.myspace.com/healthygirlsinitiative !

Bienvinedos a "Nadie Como Yo!" Healthy Girls Initiative Goes Bilingual!

The Healthy Girls Initiative is delighted to announce the very first delivery of the Nadie Como Yo! program to girls in Sarasota. The Nadie Como Yo! program is the Spanish version of the Uniquely Me! Program for Girls. It was delivered by new part-time Program Outreach Specialist Vivian Quintero. If you would like Vivian to deliver this holistic health program to Spanish-speaking girls at your church, summer camp or other youth program in South Sarasota County (Venice, North Port, Englewood, Laurel/Nokomis/Osprey), please contact HGI Program Specialist Julia Onnie-Hay at (941) 921-5358 ext. 319 or juliao@gsgcf.org.

Want more Healthy Girls Initiative online? Visit: http://www.myspace.com/healthygirlsinitiative !

Healthy Girls Task Forces Update

The community activists of the Healthy Girls Task Forces (Venice and Englewood) were honored for their community service work at the Girls Awards ceremony held at Riverview High School in Ft. Myers last month. Also in May, the Venice Task Force hosted an Organic Garden Planning Potluck, which was well-attended by enthusiastic community-members eager to support the girls in planting an organic garden at the Venice Girl Scout House, including Vice Mayor of the City of Venice, Sue Lang! Next steps include inviting Sarasota County Master Gardeners to give a presentation on Florida gardening to the girls and purchasing some Earthboxes to start a summer garden in. If all goes well, the girls will plant direct in the Earth in the autumn.

This summer, the Task Force girls are offering several community wellness events throughout South Sarasota County. On Saturday, June 20th from 11:00am to 3:00pm, the Venice Task Force hosts the Healthy Girls Wellness Fair at the Venice Girl Scout House. On Saturday, July 18th from 12:00pm to 3:00pm, the Englewood Task Force hosts the Family Nature & Fitness Day at a location in Englewood to be determined (look for the location announcement in the July Healthy Girls Initiative E-Newsletter!). On Saturday, August 15th and Sunday, August 16th, the Venice Task Force girls will host a Back-To-School Stress Less Wellness Sleepover at the Venice Girl Scout House. Also, look for signs in the lawns of Englewood businesses and organizations promoting healthy living, planted by Englewood Task Force girls!


Want more Healthy Girls Initiative online? Visit: http://www.myspace.com/healthygirlsinitiative !

Great News - The Healthy Girls Initiative Cell Phone Is Back!

For everyone who has been trying so persistently to get in touch with Healthy Girls Initiative Program Specialist Julia Onnie-Hay via the (941) 302-0004 cell phone, you may have been wondering if Julia was out to (a healthy) lunch or off on some wellness retreat outside of the cell phone reception zone! The cell phone charger was broken for the past two weeks, but has now been restored to working order. Apologies to anyone that had difficulty being in touch with Healthy Girls Initiative. Remember, aside from the cell phone you can always catch Julia by shooting her an email at: juliao@gsgcf.org. She also checks the (941) 921-5458 ext. 319 office line on a weekly basis.

Want more Healthy Girls Initiative online? Visit: http://www.myspace.com/healthygirlsinitiative !

Healthy Summer! June Programs

Healthy Girls Initiative has a lot of exciting holistic health programs for girls and adults going on in South Sarasota County this June! Please contact Julia as soon as possible at (941) 921-5358 ext. 319 or (941) 302-0004 or juliao@gsgcf.org to register for any of the following:


* Healthy Girls Summer Programs
Dates, Times, Sites: Mondays @ Englewood YMCA 3:30pm to 4:30pm
Tuesdays @ North Port Boys & Girls Club 3pm to 4pm
Wednesdays @ Venice YMCA 3pm to 4pm
Thursdays @ Venice Boys & Girls Club 3pm to 4pm
Fridays @ Laurel Civic Association 3pm to 4pm
Cost: FREE!
More Info: Introducing the newly developed “Healthy Girls Summer Program” curriculum to girls in Sarasota County and all other nine counties in the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. region! All five of the programs offered in South Sarasota County this summer will be delivered by the new part-time program specialist Vivian Quintero. Programs fuse together nutrition education, physical activity, emotional/mental wellness lessons and an emphasis on environmental health in fun and ‘tween-friendly ways.

For girls ages 8-14 participating in the summer camps.

* Uniquely Me! Summer “Challenge” Program for Moms & Daughters
Dates: Wednesdays
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: Women’s Resource Center of Sarasota County - Venice
Cost: FREE!
More Info: For the first time, the Women’s Resource Center of Sarasota County combines their beloved “Challenge” program for women with the Healthy Girls Initiative “Uniquely Me!” program with the intention of strengthening relationships between moms and daughters while cultivating holistically healthy lifestyles together.

This program is closed to new registrations.

* Healthy Girls Circle @ Teen Empowerment
Dates: Thursdays
Time: 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: Laurel Civic Association - Laurel
Cost: FREE!
More Info: The Healthy Girls Summer Program will be modified to address holistic health issues selected by the teenage girls of the Teen Empowerment Program at Laurel Civic Association. This is a supplementary enrichment program new to Laurel!

This program is open to girls participating in the Teen Empowerment summer program at Laurel Civic Association.

* Englewood Task Force Presents: Beach Yoga & Clean-Up
Date: Saturdays
Time: 7:30am to 9:00am
Location: Middle Beach- Englewood
Cost: FREE!
More Info: Join a member of the Englewood Healthy Girls Task Force and HGI Program Specialist Julia Onnie-Hay for a gentle beach yoga session followed by a walk where we pick up trash on the beach. Start your day off right doing something healthy for your body and for the Earth!

For the whole South Sarasota County community.

* Wellness in Schools Forum
Date: Wednesday, June 17th
Time: 10:00am to 11:00am
Location: Sarasota County School Board - Sarasota
Cost: FREE!
More Info: This forum meets on a monthly basis with the intention of making healthy living resources more available to students and families in Sarasota County. The forum is a collaboration between the Sarasota County School Board, Sarasota County Health Department’s Community Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP), many non-profit organizations and concerned parents.

For Sarasota County School Board staff, Sarasota County Health Department staff, non-profit organization staff, and concerned parents. Please contact HGI Program Specialist Julia Onnie-Hay for room number.

* Venice Healthy Girls Task Force Meeting 6
Date: Thursday, June 18th
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: Venice Girl Scout House - Venice
Cost: FREE!
More Info: The girls will focus on last-minute preparations for the Healthy Girls Wellness Fair to be held on Saturday, June 20th (see below).

For members of the Venice Healthy Girls Task Force only.

* Venice Task Force Presents: Healthy Girls Wellness Fair
Date: Saturday, June 20th
Time: 11:00am to 3:00pm
Location: Venice Girl Scout House - Venice
Cost: $3 donation recommended
More Info: Healthy living games and activities; nutritious and delicious food and smoothies available; wellness information; crafts galore!

Open to the South Sarasota County community; however, every person must be accompanied by a girl under the age of 18 in order to be admitted.

* Englewood Task Force Meeting 6
Date: Monday, June 29th
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: Englewood United Methodist Church - Englewood
Cost: FREE!
More Info: Meeting 5 of the Task Force will focus on plans for the educational sign campaign as well as preparations for the Family Nature & Fitness Day planned for Saturday, July 18th.

Members of the Englewood Task Force only.

* Go Green! Healthy Snacking 101
Date: Tuesday, June 30th
Time: 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Location: Laurel Civic Association - Laurel
Cost: FREE!
More Info: This is the first of three wellness classes being offered to the first co-ed youth audience ever by the Healthy Girls Initiative. In July, look for the Stress Less! Visualization 101 and Real Deal! Substance Abuse 101 classes for the Teen Empowerment program at the Laurel Civic Association.

For girls and boys in the Teen Empowerment program at the Laurel Civic Association only.

Want more Healthy Girls Initiative online? Visit: http://www.myspace.com/healthygirlsinitiative !

June Healthy Woman of the Month: Alisa Peters

Each month, Healthy Girls Initiative will feature a brief interview with a woman who contributes to our South Sarasota County community by leading by example and promoting holistically healthy lifestyles for our girls.
Our June Healthy Woman of the Month is Alisa Peters, a Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. staff member always inspiring to other staff in her commitment to wellness and the girls of our community!


Where you live and how long have you lived there?
I live in Sarasota and have lived in the Bradenton/Sarasota area for 16 years.
What do you do for work?
I work for Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. in the position of Director, Administrative Services. I have been with the Girl Scouts for 12 years and enjoy my work.

I started working in retail at the age of 17 but have mostly worked in administrative positions since the age of 22.
How many girls ages 8-14 do you interact with on a regular basis?
I interact with many girls when they come into the office or visit our Girl Scout Shop. I have helped several times at summer camp assisting girls with arts and crafts within this age range. I enjoy working with girls of these ages, they are a lot of fun and it is amazing what you can learn from them. I have three wonderful nieces that keep me up on the new and hip things happening in today’s society for their age range, it is so different now-a-days than it was when I was a kid.
What does living a healthy lifestyle mean to you?
To me it means taking care of yourself and your family. Everyone can live a healthy lifestyle just by making small changes on a daily basis. I have a daughter who is 7 years old and she was learning about the food pyramid in school in January. We promised together that we would incorporate some of these new changes in our daily routine of eating habits; so far it is working great.

The past few months I have been learning about eating healthy and am still learning how to make the right choices. It can be easy to make changes but it does take time to mentally make yourself think about choosing the right foods. In January I realized that I was not happy being at a weight that I had never reached before. I was uncomfortable in my clothes and upset at myself for letting myself make bad choices. So I made the decision to make a life change to start living a healthy life for my family and myself. I signed up in January to do the 3-Day Breast Cancer walk this coming October.

Since signing up and training for this event I have lost 30 lbs. to date and am working on loosing another 20 lbs. by October so I will be in good shape for the event. I was inspired by the TV show Biggest Loser (BL), which is a favorite of mine and three awesome trainers I had at Lifestyles in Bradenton, Toni, Carol, and Kate. Unfortunately, two of us moved and are now living in different areas; but to this day they stay in touch with me and keep me motivated. While watching the show (BL) I tell myself if these people can do it, so can I.

I feel it is important to set goals, stay focused, and work hard to accomplish them. I choose the 3-Day Breast Cancer event because it has been a life long goal of mine to accomplish. I lost my grandmother to breast cancer 27 years ago and I am walking in memory of her. I am very excited about the people I will meet, the new friendships I will form and I am proud of myself for taking the steps to learn how to make changes to live a healthy lifestyle.

My personal advice to others about making a change to start a healthy lifestyle is that I would advise anyone to start by making small steps. Make better choices, choose healthier meals, exercise and it will get easier to maintain a healthy weight. Do not give up! When you feel like you want to quit, you have push through it. It will get easier in time, you will be glad you did it and you will gain a happier out look on life. I hope that by living my life in a healthy way it inspires others to do the same.
Share your top three healthy living tips for other adult caregivers of girls:
1.) Exercise and make it fun - it is important to get some type of exercise daily or at least a few days a week. So go for a walk around the block, play outside with your kid(s), throw a ball around, try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in everyday and you will feel better and will see results just by taking small steps in the right direction to be healthier. The bonus to exercising is that you will feel better with more energy and not less.

2.) Make small changes in your eating habits: Choose low fat cheeses and yogurts, whole-wheat crackers and cheese, smoothies made with fruit and fat-free milk, eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Choose lean meats such as skinless chicken, turkey breast, fish, or pork loin and cook with olive or canola oils instead of butters. Most important limit fried foods.

3.) Plan your meals for the week ahead of time. I recommend the steamer bags of veggies they have out now, they are easy and go with any meal. Try not to keep things like chips, candy, and soda in your pantry; they will only make you hungrier. Try not to be tempted by fast foods. It is so easy today with all the fast food chains we drive by on a daily basis, to just swing through and get a meal. Many of us are always on the go and rushing to get our kid(s) to their activities due to time restraints so we pick the quickest choice, which is fast food. It is okay to treat yourself to something once a week, but make sure you limit the amount you eat.
Why are you a part of Healthy Girls Initiative?
First and foremost I’m trying to be a positive role model for my own daughter and my family by focusing on healthy lifestyle choices – in other words I’m trying to “walk the talk.” At work, my team and I help the HGI and Julia by registering girls for all the great programs that the Healthy Girl Initiative has to offer.

P.S. If anyone would like to support me and my team with the 3-Day Cancer walk I would greatly appreciate it. To make a donation and sponsor me just go to www.The3Day.org put in my name, Alisa Peters and follow the prompts. You can also print the form and mail in a check if you are not comfortable making a contribution on line. My goal is to ask 200 people to make a $10.00 contribution or whatever amount they would like to contribute to sponsor me so I can reach my goal of $2300.00 and complete the journey.



Want more Healthy Girls Initiative online? Visit: http://www.myspace.com/healthygirlsinitiative !

Starting in August: Growing Healthy Girls In Our Schools!

The Healthy Girls Initiative of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. was approved to deliver our holistic health programs for girls within the school day in Sarasota County elementary schools back in February 2009. Since then, we have been developing and refining the curriculum through delivering the Uniquely Me! Healthy Girls Program in after-school programs throughout the region.

This past May, HGI Program Specialist Julia Onnie-Hay met with guidance counselors from elementary schools in Venice, North Port, Laurel and Englewood regarding setting up the logistics for offering the program to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade girls in their schools. We are pleased to announce that starting with the new school term at the end of August, the Uniquely Me! Healthy Girls Program will be offered at Garden Elementary School in Venice, Glen Allen Elementary School in North Port, and Englewood Elementary School in Englewood. We are still available to offer the program in two other elementary schools in the region, so if you would like to see us in your school next term, please contact HGI Program Specialist Julia Onnie-Hay at (941) 921-5358 ext. 319 or juliao@gsgcf.org to find out how you can help make our cutting edge healthy living curriculum available to girls in your community!

Want more Healthy Girls Initiative online? Visit: http://www.myspace.com/healthygirlsinitiative !