For the past 3 years, SOSMentor has worked with youth from South Bay 1 Stop as part of their Fit For Gold program, a work-training program that enables high school students to earn money and high school credit while mentoring younger children.
Nutritionist and SOSMentor staff member Dana Griffis, teacher Grace Fabian, and athletic trainer Billy Locke led the 8-hour training session, held on October 29, 2011 at Hawthorne High School.
Hawthorne Community Television (HCTV) covered the day’s events as 65 students learned about basic nutrition, MyPlate, and the importance of eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Students also participated in a physical activity workshop – complete with ladder drills, games, and lots of laughs.
Javar, a student from Hawthorne Math & Science Academy, said his motivation for joining the program was his desire to help younger kids – like his little cousins. SOSMentor and South Bay 1 Stop are equipping students like Javar with knowledge and leadership training so they can be positive role models in their families and community.
SOSMentor was featured yesterday on ABC7 News for our work in the ShapeUp program. The segment highlighted our Executive Director, Robert Donahue, Registered Dietitian Jennifer Genens, and students from Monroe High School and Gledhill Elementary School. Watch the video and read the article below:
Mentor program teaches kids exercise, nutrition
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report childhood obesity rates have tripled in the last 30 years. But one local charity in Los Angeles is helping to change the way kids eat and move.
"They identified childhood obesity as the biggest problem in their community," said Robert Donahue, SOSMentor ShapeUp cofounder.
Former school principal Robert Donahue is talking about what teens cited as their biggest obstacle. That prompted him and his wife to create the SOSMentor ShapeUp program.
"We started with a group of I think 14 kids, and last year we probably saw 2,500," said Donahue.
Over the last five years their "big kids training little kids" program reached 4,000 in total.
"It's one thing just to teach them about nutrition, but you see how much they're getting out of it when in turn they teach the elementary school children about nutrition," said registered dietitian Jennifer Genens.
Teens take a five-week training course led by dietitians and trainers, then the high-schoolers in turn take five weeks and teach the little kids from third, fourth, and fifth grades.
Another bonus: the teens who teach also meet their school district requirement for community service, all while learning themselves.
"I've lost 70 pounds since last year and it feels really good," said Robert Cruz, a student at James Monroe High School.
The teen mentors and their charges review the information with parents, who then must write down what they've learned from the lesson, too, so everyone digests the information.
"My mom ended up losing 50 pounds, and so did my sister," said Cruz.
Kids learn things like what constitutes a whole grain and how many servings of produce they should eat in a day, what constitutes a true serving size, and when it comes to exercise, what they should do when they're bored.
"One thing they taught us to do is we would go on our back and put our arms up and we would walk," said Genesis Benaloza, a 5th-grade student at Gledhill Street Elementary School.
Crazy crab-walking, cardio and coordination, and how to work that core, all valuable things to learn.
Every ShapeUp physical activity workshop ends with students gathering in a circle, hands together in the center, to shout out our motto: “Fit for life!” Physical trainer Billy Locke, who leads our P.A. workshops, uses this motto to remind students that fitness is a lifetime goal that we work toward day in and day out.
ShapeUp students not only learn the fundamentals of good exercise habits, including warming up, stretching, circuit and strength training, and cardiovascular exercise, they also learn about body composition, anatomy, and why physical activity is so important for a healthy body.
The beauty of these workshops is that they’re fun. From relay races to swinging from the monkey bars, Billy Locke is constantly coming up with new, creative ways to make the kids laugh and have fun while being active. In fact, the workshops are often more like playtime than workouts!
When physical activity is this much fun, being “fit for life” is a walk in the park.
The season of giving is upon us, and SOSMentor is getting into the holiday spirit! On November 23, Vons, SOSMentor, and LA’s BEST held the “Gobble Give-Back” at Gledhill Elementary School in North Hills. Vons distributed free turkeys to more than 60 students and their families, just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. The students participate in SOSMentor’s ShapeUp program, funded by Kaiser Permanente, in partnership with Youth Policy Institute at Monroe High School and LA’s BEST at Gledhill Elementary.
SOSMentor Co-Founders Bob and Carole Donahue were on hand to talk about the ShapeUp mentoring program at Monroe High School and Gledhill Elementary School, and students in the program addressed the audience to discuss how ShapeUp has impacted them. High school student Robert Cruz, who weighed 225 pounds before participating in the program, explained that ShapeUp inspired him to lose 70 pounds!
During this time of economic hardship for so many families in Los Angeles and across the country, SOSMentor is thrilled that we were able to team up with Vons to make it a little easier for our students’ families this Thanksgiving. We thank Vons for their generosity and wish all of our students, friends, and supporters continued abundance and joy this holiday season!
