Over the past few weeks, the Center for Closing the Health Gap has been reaching out to the community to continue engaging and educating residents about the importance of taking care of their health. We had the opportunity to participate in a number of community events to continue spreading the message of how to Eat Right, Do Right, and Live Right.
The summer started with our Do Right! Babies Wrap Up Cookout. The event was the culmination of a 2-year project in order to educate the community on the state of infant mortality in high-risk Cincinnati neighborhoods. The goal of the Do Right! Babies Initiative was to mobilize residents and work with them to create solutions to improve their neighborhood and health in order to see more babies live past the age of one.
The cookout brought many of the new and expecting moms and dads together so that they could socialize, network, and have more confidence in continuing to work on what they could do to improve the state and health of their neighborhoods. The group had been participating with Do Right! Babies to improve their personal health, and the wellness of their babies. Also, the participants were given a resource guide in order to connect with neighborhood organizations that could provide them with support, and a few lucky participants won care baskets to help with their newborns.
Our Do Right! Babies having is having their wrap up event as Seasongood Park, a BBQ for all of the participants of our program at Seasons Good park “Bengals Park.” pic.twitter.com/GW6h9UaYU0
— Health Gap (@CCHGcincy) June 23, 2018
The Do Right! Wellness Series including Do Right! Healthy Steps, Do Right! Relax & Restore, and Do Right! Nutrition Train the Trainer have wrapped up, and we are heading towards our third round of classes for Fall of 2018. A total of 45 people have participated in the summer wellness series, the goal of the series is to continue spreading the knowledge of health and wellness, focusing on nutrition, fitness, and stress reduction, and the prevention and management of chronic illnesses such as diabetes. The classes provide many of the participants the support that they need in order to overcome mental obstacles to make healthier changes in their lives.
The Health Gap participated in a summer program with the Corban Early Learning Center as a component of the Do Right! Kids Initiative in order to continue teaching community children the basics of nutrition, gardening, the importance of physical activity, and making healthy choices. Overall, the kids enjoyed the experience and learned a lot.
The Health Gap also had the opportunity to participate in Operation Backpack, a backpack giveaway event, presented by the Grooveminte Girls. The participants who visited our table were able to receive health information on how to read food labels and easy things they could do to start incorporating physical activity in their daily routines. We also had a nutrition demonstration, participants were amazed at the amount of sugar, and fat that were in the foods that they eat on a daily basis. The demonstration helped them to think twice about what they eat.
Operation Backpack with Grooveminte girls had a great turnout! Backpacks were given and there were even some celebrity appearances. One lucky kid won a fitness tracker from the Health Gap! pic.twitter.com/MgFbZKjzdm
— Health Gap (@CCHGcincy) August 4, 2018
The Do Right! Block By Block Campaign in Mount Auburn kicked off their recruitment for their fourth class. The Mount Auburn Health Champions have been going out into the community, canvassing in order to get their neighbors on board to complete a 14-week healthy lifestyle intervention focusing on nutrition, physical activity, and community engagement. The campaign so far has participated in the Mount Auburn Block Party and hosted a Kick off Meet and Greet event. Special Guest Council Member Tamaya Dennard, newly implanted Mount Auburn resident, joined campaign members at the Meet and Greet to address the residents and encourage the community to join the campaign and push for healthy change in their community.
The Do Right! Mt. Auburn Block by Block Meet & Greet is underway at Taft Elementary. Come out and join the resident and learn how to become a Health Champion. #HealthyLiving #EatingRight pic.twitter.com/OyhTjzuJFl
— Health Gap (@CCHGcincy) July 28, 2018
The Health Gap plans to participate in more events in the upcoming weeks including the Avondale Festival, Mount Auburn Day, and the Black Family Reunion. The third round of wellness series has already begun with Do Right! Nutrition Train the Trainer and registration is open for the Do Right! Healthy Steps and Relax & Restore fall sessions.
