Healthy Lubbock Day 2007
Healthy Lubbock Day 2007 |
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This year's event was a success due to the support from our committee, vendors, and the public. Lubbock Parks and Recreation estimated close to 1000 people attended the event at Maxey Park to take part in the free health screenings, exercise demos, and informational booths. Thank you for working to make Lubbock a healthier community. We are hard at work planning next year's Healthy Lubbock Day. The following images were taken at this year's Healthy Lubbock Day. Media stories about the event can be found at the end of this page.
Healthy Lubbock Day filled with wall climbing, screenings, talks and more by Fun and knowledge are the attractions - and health is the goal for Saturday. The free Healthy Lubbock Day will feature activities such as an around the world obstacle course for children, lectures on Alzheimer's disease and nutrition, health screenings for all ages, a climbing wall, exercise demonstrations, child immunizations and a basketball tournament. Healthy Lubbock Day activities will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Maxey Park and Community Center, 4020 30th St. Healthy Lubbock Day was not held last year because of lack of funding, but the program has been revived and expanded. Annette Nichols Boles, assistant director of Texas Tech's Garrison Institute on Aging, said she is excited about Healthy Lubbock Day. The institute's Healthy Lubbock Initiative, which used to be aimed only at children, has been reworked to target adults and seniors as well. "We've got to have our adults be our role models for our kids," she said. "Our goal is to encourage the adults that will in essence also encourage their children, their grandchildren ... to have a healthier lifestyle." Healthy Lubbock Day will offer activities for people of any exercise level, Nichols Boles said. "The most exciting for me is the variety of exercise opportunities and activities for all ages," she said. People who have never exercised before will have a chance to become interested in a hobby that can help improve their quality of life and delay the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer's, Nichols Boles said. "Healthy Lubbock Day is step one," she said. "We're encouraging them to come out and find their niche - what will keep them active." The Garrison Institute, Lubbock Department of Parks and Recreation and local businesses are sponsoring the activities. These toys, games and activities can help keep kids fit during summer by Annette Boles, who recently organized Healthy Lubbock Day, says we need to motivate our children to be active and encourage other organizations in the community to team up to make Lubbock a more healthy place. "We have a role as adults to get our kids active in any or all activities," Boles says. "The smallest thing to keep them active is key to success, and the main thing is to make it a habit." And local stores are ready to help you keep your kids active this summer. Jamie Newton, manager of KB Toy Store in South Plains Mall, says she can offer several activities that are inexpensive. "Twister Dodgeball and Twister Scram are running games," Newton says. "In Twister Dodgeball you are required to run and duck, and Twister Scram is a spin on the traditional Twister game where the colored circles are individual mats instead of one large mat." She says the Phlat Ball can be a disk or a ball. It can turn into either, and is a guessing game for children when thrown. Newton suggests the game hot potato works well with the Phlat Ball. "The Hopping Ball is for ages 5 and up and is just a hold-on-and-jump activity for children," Newton says. It is really hot this year with the Dora the Explorer logo stamped across it. "Aqua Defenders is a water fun activity in the pool," Newton says. Kids sit in a water chair and bop each other until one kid tips over. It is pool fun and works the upper body. A workout can be fun without buying new things, too. Boles says, "Using your imagination to think up activities can keep children moving in a positive manner, so they do not dread it. "And make sure to keep it a family event," she advises. "I am working mom, so we as a family try to stop by the park after work for at least 15 to 20 minutes every day. If it is a rainy day, we will play in the garage, just by kicking the ball around," Boles says. "It is important to teach children to learn to be active and make good food choices, such as portion control and less saturated-fat foods are important part of a healthy diet." Paul Cimino, owner of Building Blocks Toy Store, said his philosophy is keeping kids active and not being passive about it. His store has been open 10 years and has stayed away from most battery-operated toys so that children, rather than batteries, can be the operators. "With dolls that I carry, they let the child decide wether it is crying or smiling, not a chip," Cimino says. "It is a proactive approach on play time." He says he carries pedal vehicles, in which children use their legs and arms to scoop or move dirt. "Foot-to-floor vehicles can start as early as 12 months," Cimino says, "and the hottest thing in the store is the Plasma Car." Kids sit in the Plasma Car and pump a handle back and forth to propel the car. Eddie Rodriguez, Target store team leader, says the biggest sellers this summer are basketball hoops, anything to do with soccer, and baseball equipment. "With water activities, we provide Slip 'n Slides and sprinkler items that can keep children moving this summer," Rodriguez says. He points out that keeping kids active this summer can be as simple as riding a bicycle through the neighborhood. Successful Healthy Lubbock Day promotes active and healthy lifestyle for all ages by LUBBOCK--Community members of all ages learned how to get fit, prevent disease and become healthier at Healthy Lubbock Day on June 9 at Maxey Park. Activities included health care lectures, wall climbing, paddle boats, exercise demonstrations, health screenings for all ages, prizes and much more. People discovered that having a healthy lifestyle and being active could be fun. “There was something for everyone,” said Annette Boles, assistant director of the Garrison Institute on Aging. “Information was available to learn how to stay active through the summer and make healthy living a lifestyle.” Students from the School of Nursing stayed busy throughout the morning testing blood glucose levels, cholesterol and blood pressure, not only providing a public service to participants, but also offering educational interaction with patients. About 45 vendors participated including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, University Medical Center, Bodyworks and the Boy Scouts of America. A program of the Garrison Institute on Aging, the Healthy Lubbock Initiative seeks to make Lubbock and its surrounding communities a healthier place by supporting and motivating people to become active through physical activity and improved nutrition. Future activities include “Get Fit Lubbock,” a team challenge to get fit and healthy with prizes awarded based on points earned for exercise and weight loss from September thru December. For more information, please contact Annette Boles at 743-7821. | ||||||||||||||||||
