Weekly Media Roundup: May 1, 2019

YMCAs in LA Aim to Get Families Started on a Lifetime of Fitness with 'Healthy Kids Day,' ABC 7 (California)

Twenty-six YMCAs in the Los Angeles area came together to host a “Healthy Kids Day” last weekend. At various events throughout the community, children and their parents took part in interactive demonstrations meant to promote healthy lifestyles and learned about YMCA afterschool and summer programming. “We do STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics], we do Silly Snacks,” West Valley Family YMCA Afterschool Program and Site Director Monique Otero told ABC 7.  “We do arts-and-play, so we give them a little bit of everything that we do, so that when the parents come they have a little bit of an idea of what we do.”

Aiding Those 'At-Risk,' Putnam County Sentinel (Ohio)

The Health Rocks afterschool program in Ottawa, Ohio equips fifth- and sixth-grade students with the life skills they need to make healthy decisions as teenagers and beyond. Students learn to make nutritious snacks, form mentoring relationships with 4-H teens, and discover new interests through hands-on activities in computer science, woodworking and more. “What the content of all those subjects really revolve around is healthy lifestyle choices,” Associate Professor Jason Hedrick told the Putnam County Sentinel. “We talk a lot about wellness as a larger picture. It’s not just fitness. It’s not just nutrition. It’s just kind of an overall wellness of who you are as a person. And, often times, if you can find a subject matter that you’re really interested in, then you tend to pour your energy into that, instead of maybe some of the things down the road.”

As ACT Turns Seven, Its Impact On Youth Surges, The Weekly Challenger (Florida)

More than 700 students participate in afterschool programs, workshops, clinics and summer programs offered by the Arts Conservatory for Teens in St. Petersburg, Florida each year. Launched seven years ago, the nonprofit operates a wide variety of programs focused on workforce development, dance, game coding and more. Its teen programming takes a holistic approach to youth development. “We focus on the art of leadership, the art of entrepreneurship, the art of money management and most importantly, the art of healthy living,” Co-Founder Alex Harris told the Weekly Challenger.

Head Start on STEM, Manhattan Times (New York)

A new afterschool program at the City College of New York will introduce high school students to careers in science and technology. Through the program, any high school student in Northern Manhattan’s District 6 will be able to access hands-on training in robotics, mechatronics, entrepreneurship and more at CCNY’s new STEM lab. “Aside from the learning, it’s useful for them to be on a college campus for programs like this,” CCNY STEM Institute Director Joseph Barba told the Manhattan Times. “They start to get the feeling that they belong here, they can do this.”