SOSMentor's March First for Healthy Kids Luncheon

A star-studded event, $30,000 raised, and one mission: building a healthier future for our youth. By all accounts, the March First for Healthy Kids Luncheon, presented by SOSMentor and Kaiser Permanente, was a smashing success!

The house was packed and the positive energy was at an all-time high at Downtown LA’s Taix Restaurant on March 1st, as SOSMentor’s supporters gathered to enjoy a healthy meal. Guests were welcomed by the soothing sounds of saxophonist Murray Middleman and ABC7’s “Healthy Living” reporter Denise Dador served as MC.

We presented awards to three individuals working to improve the health of our young people: Dr. Edward Ellison, Executive Medical Director of Southern California Permanente Medical Group, received the Excellence in Health Care Award; LAUSD Board Member Tamar Galatzan received the Excellence in Education Award; and Ali Vincent, television host and “Biggest Loser,” was honored for Excellence in Media.

SOSMentor is grateful to Kaiser Permanente for their sponsorship of this event, and to all of our guests for the outpouring of support. As Ali Vincent said so eloquently: “It is up to us to create the world that we want to live in… one step at a time, one choice at a time, one nutritional value at a time.”

Winners in the Healthy Messages Poster Contest have been selected!

A piece of broccoli wearing a sweatband is pumping iron while an orange jumps rope… an apple and a carrot defeat a donut and cupcake in a 25-3 football game. There was no shortage of creativity on display at SOSMentor’s Poster Contest Judging Event last week, but many students chose to personify their favorite fruits and vegetables in their submissions to the annual Healthy Messages Poster Contest.

SOSMentor staff, partners, sponsors and supporters gathered at LAUSD Administrative Offices bright and early on March 21st for the final round of judging in the district-wide poster contest. More than 12,000 posters were submitted by students of all ages and the top 36 were displayed on easels at the event for judges to view and score. ABC7 News was there to cover the action.

After participating in the Healthy Schools Campaign or Healthy Athletes Program nutrition lessons, students created posters to communicate what they learned to others and help promote healthy living in their schools. Their “healthy messages” ranged from simple and catchy (“Eat healthy food, live a life that’s good”) to meaningful (“Health is the greatest wealth”) to humorous – one submission featured a dancing PSY look-alike (the Korean pop star who went viral with “Gangnam Style”) with the caption “Healthy Style!”

The winners will be announced on April 18th at the Poster Contest Awards Dinner, our annual celebration for the 36 finalists and their family members. This year, ABC7’s Lori Corbin will MC the event and LAUSD Superintendent Dr. John Deasy will be a guest speaker. The event will also feature a rap by Papa Joe and a guest appearance by the Laker Girls.

Take a peek at the finalists’ posters in the video above, and see if you can predict who the winners will be! Click here for more information about the Healthy Schools Campaign and Healthy Athletes Program.

Monroe High football team scores points on health and nutrition

SOSMentor’s first-ever Healthy Athletes Program has come to a close and one thing’s for sure: football players at James Monroe High School who participated in the program this semester are winning big when it comes to nutrition. 

Over the past 10 weeks, football coach Christian Abraham taught students how to fuel their bodies before, during and after a workout or game, using SOSMentor’s Healthy Athletes Program curriculum.

The program, which is conducted with our after school partner Youth Policy Institute, starts with the six basic nutrition lessons taught in our Healthy Schools Campaign curriculum, including MyPlate and Whole Grains, What’s in My Meal?, and Balancing Food and Fun. It also includes four lessons specific to sports nutrition, such as Eating for Recovery and Immune Function, Energy Expenditure, and Building Muscle and Performance Hydration.

The Monroe High football players have gone beyond the curriculum, learning more about nutrition on their own – with overwhelmingly positive results. Many players report feeling and performing better, “in life and on the field,” as student Jose Real put it. 

They’ve learned to apply their new knowledge about nutrition to improve their focus and mentality, overall well-being, and their game. Hear more of what they had to say about the Healthy Athletes Program in the video above.

2 days 'til SOSMentor's Poster Contest Judging Event!

At a time when more than 40% of 5th, 7th and 9th graders in Los Angeles County are overweight or obese, SOSMentor’s LAUSD Healthy Schools Campaign is giving local students an opportunity to become a voice for change.

SOSMentor will display artwork created by students throughout the school district to convey positive messages about healthy living at our upcoming Healthy Messages Poster Contest judging event. LAUSD Superintendent Dr. John Deasy, community volunteers, and SOSMentor staff, partners and sponsors will gather to view and score the finalists’ posters. The event will take place on March 21, 2013 at 8:45 a.m. in the Blue Room at LAUSD Administrative Offices.

The annual LAUSD Healthy Schools Campaign is an unprecedented partnership between SOSMentor, LAUSD Beyond the Bell Branch and School Nursing Services to bring engaging nutrition education to 14,000 students in 700 schools. After taking part in a series of interactive nutrition lessons during the Spring semester, elementary, middle and high school students created posters communicating creative messages about both nutrition and physical activity for the district-wide Healthy Messages Poster Contest.

The Healthy Schools Campaign encourages students to be health advocates in their schools, and also in their families. To be eligible for the poster contest, students completed a “Students Teaching Parents” activity by taking educational materials home to their parents and brainstorming healthy shopping, cooking and eating changes they can implement as a family.

The outcome of the Poster Contest Judging Event will determine the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and honorable mentions, who will receive fun prizes, including Disneyland tickets, bicycles, and gift cards to sports stores, at the Awards Dinner presented by Five Star Gourmet Foods.  The dinner will be held at St. Vincent Medical Center, Seton Hall, on April 18.

For more info, please contact us at info@sosmentor.org or (818) 222-4243.

Community raises nearly $2,000 for SOSMentor in the lululemon Calabasas Run-a-Thon!

In just one week, community members ran 391 miles to benefit SOSMentor in the lululemon athletica Calabasas Run-a-Thon.

From January 14th to 21st, runners hit the pavement, recorded their mileage using a GPS device, and then logged their miles at the lululemon store in Calabasas -- who pledged to donate $5 to SOSMentor for every mile!

We're so thrilled that the community rallied together to raise $1,955 in lululemon's Run-a-Thon. So, to lululemon athletica and everyone who participated: Thank you for going the distance for our youth!

Check out the lululemon Calabasas website for more community events.

SOSMentor in the Community: St. Vincent Medical Center’s 11th Annual Free Community Health Fair

What a joy it was for SOSMentor to participate in the 11th Annual Free Community Health Fair, held by our long-time partner, St. Vincent Medical Center, on September 22nd!

The purpose of the health fair is to provide access to free health services for low-income families in the community and inspire change by offering health information and resources.

Some of this year’s services included vision and hearing exams, Hepatitis B and diabetes screenings, dental exams, blood pressure screening, flu shots, and much more!

Maryam, one of SOSMentor’s awesome volunteer Registered Dietitians, helped out at the booth for St. Vincent’s Casa de Amigos afterschool program. We offered educational pamphlets, flyers and booklets promoting healthy eating and exercise, and we had a blast with the activity question wheel and prizes.

SOSMentor would like to thank St. Vincent Medical Center for the opportunity to touch the lives of kids and families through health education. We’re already looking forward to participating in next year’s Free Community Health Fair!

Ask the Experts

Here at SOSMentor, we’re all about educating our community about nutrition, exercise, and healthy lifestyles. So we thought we’d bring you a new weekly column called “Ask the Experts,” where we get answers to your most pressing questions about food, fitness, and health, straight from the experts.

This week, we’re getting the 411 on vitamin D from Dr. Lee Brautman, M.D. and Deborah Brautman, LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist). If you have a question you’d like to ask one of our health experts, shoot us an email at info@sosmentor.org.

Q: After my recent physical exam, my physician informed me that my vitamin D level was low. Should I be concerned? 

A: Vitamin D plays a critical role in the functioning of many systems in our bodies. It is essential for the proper absorption of calcium from the intestine. This means that not getting enough vitamin D can adversely affect bone health.

Another area of concern regarding low vitamin D levels is its possible effect on mood health. Current research suggests that there is a connection between very low levels of vitamin D and depression. Several studies demonstrate that low levels of vitamin D increases the risk of certain types of cancer such as a colon, prostate and breast cancer. The fact that your doctor has identified this problem is the beginning to the solution.

To ensure that you’re receiving the proper amount of vitamin D, you will most likely need to take a supplement. Although vitamin D is produced in the skin from UV light, most of us do not receive sufficient sun exposure to have normal vitamin D levels. Plus, as we know, spending time in the sun without sunscreen increases the risk of skin cancer and premature aging.

You may already be getting some vitamin D from the foods that you eat. The best source of vitamin D is fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna fish. Cheese and egg yolks also contain vitamin D, but at lower levels. Many foods are fortified with vitamin D, including some cereals, milk and yogurt.

Your best bet is to take a vitamin D supplement. The optimal dosage of vitamin D supplements varies from individual to individual. It is important to clarify with your physician what his/her recommendations are for you in terms of the correct dosage.

"Live Big with Ali Vincent" Features SOSMentor

The “Live Big with Ali Vincent” show, which airs on LiveWell Network, recently stopped by Hollywood High School to get the skinny on SOSMentor’s ShapeUp program. Ali chatted with one of our enthusiastic, dedicated ShapeUp teachers, Emily Taron, and two former students whose lives were dramatically impacted by the program: Alex Yarza and Jasmine Barcia.

Ms. Taron has led the after school ShapeUp program at Hollywood High School every year since 2010. Both Alex and Jasmine were students in the first class Ms. Taron taught. Since then, they have exemplified the leadership skills that SOSMentor seeks to instill in all of our students.

In her interview with Ali, Jasmine stresses the importance of awareness and education about nutrition, because “ignorance isn’t always bliss” when it comes to what you’re putting in your body. She says that, since participating in the ShapeUp program, she has become more independent because she knows “how to make the right choices.”

Empowering our students is one of SOSMentor’s most important goals. We want our youth to take charge of their life and health, while also feeling confident enough to teach others what they know. As Alex puts it in his interview, the ShapeUp program is a “2-for-1: You learn how to eat healthy but you also become a leader.”

Alex and Jasmine have truly led by example, using their personal stories to inspire their peers, family members, and younger students. Although they were both obese as children, they were able to change course by making lifestyle changes little by little. They even ran in the LA Marathon charity relay race this year. They motivate others by saying that if they can do it, anyone can.

As LAUSD Superintendent Dr. John Deasy said at SOSMentor’s recent Poster Contest Awards Event, “No one is more powerful than our youth when they lead.” We agree – and we’re so proud that Alex and Jasmine are leading the way for the next generation.

Mentor Appreciation: Dr. Sumi Kawaratani

Most medical doctors have a difficult time juggling their busy work schedules, family and social obligations – let alone adding a volunteer position to the mix. Yet that’s exactly what one of our outstanding mentors, Dr. Sumi Kawaratani, does. 

Sumi has made an incredible contribution to SOSMentor in the past few years, lending her time, energy, and expertise to multiple programs and events. The Rotary Club of Los Angeles recently presented Sumi with an award from the Club, the LA Unified School District, and the LA City Council to thank her for her dedication and service to SOSMentor.

Sumi has mentored students in the ShapeUp program at Hollywood High School and Santee High School, among others. She approaches her role as a mentor with a humble, relatable attitude, choosing not to tell her students that she is a doctor. Instead, she simply shares her knowledge, listens attentively, and does her absolute best to be a good role model to them. 

Indeed, Sumi provides a great example for her students. In 2011 and 2012, she decided to “walk the walk” by running in the Honda LA Marathon. After training for 24 weeks, Sumi made it through the 26.2 miles and crossed the finish line hand-in-hand with SOSMentor Co-Founders, Carole and Bob Donahue. 

We would like to thank Sumi, once again, for all that she has done to support SOSMentor and our students! 

SOSMentor students illustrate visions of a healthier future

When SOSMentor’s special guests trickled into the St. Vincent Medical Center gymnasium on May 10, they were surrounded by colorful, innovative artwork displayed on easels stretching all the way around the perimeter of the room. This wasn’t an art show opening or gallery – it was SOSMentor’s Healthy Messages Poster Contest Awards Dinner, a special celebration for K-12 students who participated in the LA Unified School District Healthy Schools Campaign. 

The event, presented by SOSMentor and the Rotary Club of Los Angeles, brought together the student finalists in the Healthy Messages Poster Contest, their parents and siblings, and Healthy Schools Campaign partners, sponsors, and supporters, including LA5 President Megan O’Rourke, LAUSD Superintendent Dr. John Deasy, and LA City Councilmember Tom La Bonge. 

The thirty-six elementary, middle, and high school students who placed as finalists in the poster contest taught their parents about the nutrition and physical activity lessons they learned in SOSMentor’s Healthy Schools Campaign and created posters with healthy messages such as, “Why be sitting down when you can be running around?” and “Don’t sleep with the fishes, eat nutritious.”

LA5 President Ms. O’Rourke expressed the Rotary Club’s appreciation for SOSMentor’s unique model, which educates not just students, but their entire families, about healthy eating and active living. She praised the students, whom she said were “all winners in her eyes,” for their leadership in promoting healthy lifestyles among their family members and peers.      

Guests were treated to a healthy dinner of apple, dried cranberry, and field greens salad, sautéed vegetables, and grilled chicken before hearing from a variety of guest speakers, including Chef Miki Hackney of Melissa’s Produce and the L.A. Laker Girls. As the first, second, and third place poster contest winners were rewarded with Disneyland tickets, bicycles, and $100 gift cards to a sports store, the rest of the guests snacked on the fresh strawberries that lined the table centerpieces. 

Thanks to the generosity and support of the Rotary Club of Los Angeles, all of the children who participated in the Poster Contest Awards Dinner went home well-fed, proud of themselves, and with big smiles on their faces.