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Healthy
City
Fall
River
Update - Jan 30, 2012
Click
here for a
pdf copy of the
Winter 2012 CONNECTION Newsletter
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The Boys and Girls
Club of Fall River was the scene of a Black Out Bullying rally on
Massachusetts "No
Name Calling Day", January 25, 2011. Several hundred
children who attend the Club listened as Executive Director Peter
McCarthy welcomed staff member,
Keystone Club President and Governor's
Statewide Youth Council member Leeara Hunt who emceed the
half-hour event in the gymnasium. Speakers included Fall
River School Superintendent Meg May-Brown,
Talbot Middle School Principal Elizabeth Coogan, School
Committee Vice-Chairman Mark Costa, and Mayor
Flanagan's Chief of Staff and Club Board Member Ann O'Neil-Souza.
Fall River Police Chief Daniel
Racine asked each of the children to recite the "No Name
Calling Day" pledge before the Black Out Bullying banner was
raised to the ceiling. "I'm sure bullying isn't going to end in
just one day, but this is a heck of a start to Black Out
Bullying," said Ms. Hunt in her remarks. Click
here for the 
video of the event. Click
here for more photos and text.
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Elementary
physical education staff, paraprofessionals, school adjustment counselors
and principals met for two all-day training sessions on January 23 &
24, 2012 to learn Playworks'
methods to increase opportunities for physical
activity and safe, meaningful play in schools. The
training is part of an effort to make recess a positive experience for
children who attend Fall River Schools. Playworks has been contracted to
send trained "coaches" to help to transform recess and play into
a positive experience that prepares students for learning throughout the
school day. The coaches will become part of the school community over the
remainder of the school year to provide organized play and physical
activity at most of the Fall River schools. The training session involved
staff at all levels in order to ensure that the program is fully
supported. Click here
for a brief
video of the session. Click
here for more photos & text.
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The third Challenge Event of the Fifth Annual Fall
River Fitness Challenge was held at the Veterans' Memorial Auditorium
on a snowy January 21st. Originally slated as a 5K walk to Independence
Park and back, the weather dictated that the event be held indoors.
Participants divided into four groups, each
doing five minutes of a different exercise interspersed by five laps of
the gym. "People got a good workout without overdoing it at their
first event," noted Challenge Coordinator Annemarie Sharkey.
Organized by the
Diabetes Association, Inc.
(DAI), Community Development Recreation
(CD-REC),
the
Fall River YMCA, General
Fitness and Healthy City Fall
River, and sponsored by Partners
for a Healthier Community, the Challenge offers low cost opportunities to get
fit. Registration is open through the end of January, and many people will register and weigh-in at their workplace in
the coming weeks. Click
here for the
video and
here
for more photos & text..
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Officers at the Fall River Police
Department began receiving training on the availability of a number of
health and human services in the City through a program that began
in early January 2012. Presentations on domestic violence and
substance abuse are now given to every office on the force who
rotate in each Friday through the spring. "By the time this
series is completed, every officer will have learned about the full
range of resources that are available in our community," noted
Craig Gaspard, BOLD Coalition coordinator at Stanley Street
Treatment and Resources. "For many of these officers, this is
the only exposure they get to what we have to offer. Since officers
are often a source of referral to people they deal on a day to day
basis, it's important that they have a good understanding of what we
have to offer," he added. Click
here for more photos and text about the trainings.
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Completion
of Saint Anne’s
Hospital all-new Emergency
Department is nearing the finish line, with its third and final
phase undergoing last-minute touch-ups before its anticipated
early-February opening.
A “President’s Tour” of the complete Emergency Department was held
on January 19, 2011.
Designed to care for the more than 40,000
patients who seek emergency care each year, the hospital’s new
17,000-square-foot Emergency Department
offers patients of all
ages and their families a spectrum of services in space that doubles the
hospital’s emergency care capacity. Opened
in phases since its groundbreaking in April 2010, Saint Anne’s new,
fully complete ER replaces a facility built in the 1980s, with a full
range of capabilities and amenities for patients young and old. Staff
from both Project
Assert and from Project
Assist help patients connect with a variety of resources in the
community. Click
here for more photos & text.
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The second Challenge Event of the Fifth Annual Fall
River Fitness Challenge was held at the Fall River YMCA on January
18, 2011. Designed as an opportunity for Challenge participants to
start getting into shape, the event was led by staff member Robin Sprowell
who put
participant through a variety of moves designed to get people moving. Sponsored by the
Diabetes Association, Inc.
(DAI), Community Development Recreation
(CD-REC),
the
Fall River YMCA, General
Fitness and Healthy City Fall
River, and supported by Partners
for a Healthier Community, the Challenge offers low cost opportunities for those who
live, work or attend school in Greater Fall River to get fit, lose weight, have
fun and win prizes. Registration is open through the end of January, and many people will register and weigh-in at their workplace in
the coming weeks. Click
here for more photos and text.
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The
first Challenge Event of the Fifth Annual Fall
River Fitness Challenge was held at the Veterans' Memorial Auditorium
on January 14th. Designed as an opportunity for Challenge participants to
start getting into shape, the event began with a challenge to complete
thirty laps of the gym. Participants were then invited to shop at the
first winter farmers' market. The market featured local vendors offering
cheese, bread, oatmeal and honey, in addition to a table with sample items
provided by Chef Jessica William. Sponsored by the
Diabetes Association, Inc.
(DAI), Community Development Recreation
(CD-REC),
the
Fall River YMCA, General
Fitness and Healthy City Fall
River, and supported by Partners
for a Healthier Community, the Challenge offers low cost opportunities for those who
live, work or attend school in Greater Fall River to get fit, lose weight, have
fun and win prizes. Registration is open through the end of January, and many people will register and weigh-in at their workplace in
the coming weeks. Click
here for more photos.
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Fall
River Mayor William Flanagan and Fall River Mass
In Motion coordinator Julianne Kelly invited Boston Bicycle
"Czar" Nicole
Freedman to Government Center in Fall River on January 12, 2012 to
describe what Boston has been able to do to enhance and encourage bicycle
riding. Ms. Freedman is a former member of the U.S. National Cycling Team,
competed in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and won the 64-mile U.S.
Championship Road Race. She is now in charge of Boston
Bikes, a city-wide effort to increase bicycling and to improve safety,
comfort and connectivity for people of all abilities. The planning process
will guide development of a network of bike facilities through near-term
and long-term recommendations. Ms. Freedman offered suggestions for ways that Fall River
could implement many of the same features. Click
here for a
video of the presentation and here
for more photos.
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Partners
for a Healthier Community and the University
of Massachusetts-Dartmouth are conducting a research study during the
first several months of 2012 to determine what resources families would
like from their community and school to help them live healthy lives UMass
Nursing School Professor Maria Vazquez met with parents at the January
17th meeting of the Corkey
Row Neighborhood Association. Parents and other child caregivers were
being recruited
by UMass-Dartmouth School of
Nursing staff to participate in focus groups to talk about what they
need to help them live healthy lives. Gift cards and travel expenses are
provided along with child care. The sessions are being conducted in
English, Portuguese and Spanish. The results will help to better
understand what parents feel will help them raise their children in a
healthy way. Click
here for more photos and text.
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Saint Anne's Neighborhood Association
president
Pamela Laliberte-Lebeau was pleased to see over 150 people at a Comedy
Night fundraiser on January 13, 2011. Proceeds from the event will go
toward a new handicapped accessible playground
at Kennedy Park. "This will be a playground that every child can
use," commented Lalilberte-Lebeau emphasizing that several families
in the audience had children with disabilities. The program began with
barbershop chorus music provided by the G-20
Chorus from Fall River, led by Tony Benevides. Following remarks from
Mayor Flanagan and Laliberte-Lebeau, the program concluded with comedy
acts by Alvin David, Greg Murphy and Mike Donovan. There are
19 neighborhood
associations
representing most sections of the city. Click
here for more photos and text describing the event.
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If someone purchased drinks
or snacks in the cafeteria or vending machines around
Saint
Anne's Hospital starting
in December 2011, they
started to see a few changes. Using a stoplight theme, this initiative
is heightening awareness of healthy beverage options and the benefits of
making choices that help decrease caloric and sugar intake. Some of
these approaches include an increase in the number of healthy beverage
(and snack) products stocked in vending machines and cafeteria soda
fountain/beverage coolers. The initiative also includes labeling of
healthy beverage products according to recommended intake (green =
drink frequently; yellow = drink occasionally; red = drink
rarely or not at all) as well as on-site education sessions facilitated
by hospital registered dietitians and employees. Click
here for more photos and text..
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Meat • Cheese • Wine and more!
We take EBT for
allowable items.
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Winter
Farmers' Market
Saturday,
February 11th, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
CD
Recreation, 72 Bank Street, Fall River
Stop
by to check out the variety of goods that are available and support our
local farmers. This month's market will feature Greenvale
Vineyards and
Foxboro Cheese as vendors, as well as much more!
The
Fall River Winter Indoor Market will run on the second Saturday of every
month until May! Remember to mark your calendars and make your way
down to CD Recreation. This market is sponsored by Mayor William
Flanagan's Office and Partners for a Healthier Community.
For more
information call CD Recreation at 508.679.0922
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2012 Fall
River Fitness Challenge
Have
Fun •
Eat Well •
Get Fit •
Win Big
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Last
chance to sign your
team up now
for the Fall River Fitness Challenge!
Get your
worksite team together to compete in this year's Challenge. Teams can
range from two to ten people, and you can have more than one team!.
Contact Fitness
Challenge Coordinator Annemarie Sharkey to learn how to register your team
and set up weigh-ins at your worksite. Only $2 to register! Free Challenge
events every other week! Discounts on fitness classes! Prizes just for
participating!
For more
information call Annemarie at CD-REC at 508-679-0922 or go to www.FallRiverFitnessChallenge.com |
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The group also meets on Saturdays following the Fitness Challenges every
other week!
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Low-Carb
Support Group meeting
Low-carb
diets helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in
one of the longest and largest studies to compare the weight-loss
techniques, and the low-carb diet improved
cholesterol
more than the others.
MSNBC News
The
Fall River Fitness Challenge is sponsoring a support group for people who
are currently on or are considering following a low-carbohydrate diet,
either to lose weight or to stabilize or prevent medical conditions such
as diabetes.
A free weekly support group led by Dr. David Weed meets every Wednesday
from noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Diabetes Association, 170 Pleasant
Street. Click
here for a pdf flyer with information on how to sign up or
email Dr. Weed |
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