Projects

Kids In The Kitchen

 The Junior League's Third Annual Childhood Obesity And Nutrition Education Initiative

April 8th, 2008

Junior League's "Kids in the Kitchen"  initiative, which was launched in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom in 2006,  aims to raise the awareness and help reverse the the growth of childhood obesity and its associated health issues.  It addresses the staggering statistic that nearly one-third of children and adolescents in North and South America will be overweight by 2010 and at increased risk of contracting Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, the numerous ailments related to high cholesterol and the social problems that affect self-esteem.  As part of this initiative, on April 8th, 2008 the Junior League of Calgary (JLC) united with more than 230 Leagues from the Association of Junior Leagues International Inc. (AJLI) to educate children on the importance of eating well and staying healthy.

The JLC Kids in the Kitchen Day reached the entire school population (235 students in grades 4 to 6) at G.W. Skene Community School in two separate morning and afternoon presentations.  The JLC  enlisted the help of Will Kwong, Stampede Executive Chef, and Christy Hayne, an accomplished dancer and choreographer, to teach the students about healthy food choices and incorporating fitness into their life. Each speaker  made a short presentation and then the children rotated through learning stations on portion sizes and reading nutrition labels. Students also participated in two hands-on activities, in which they made parfaits with Will Kwong and learned dance steps from Christy Hayne.  In addition, each student received a package of recipes, nutrition information, two children’s fitness magazines, a bookmark and a magnet. The Canada Safeway store at Glenmore Landing generously donated the reusable grocery bags to hold all of the materials given to students.

Leagues across four countries will continue to involve kids in hands-on activities related to preparation of their own meals and snacks, based on information that shows that kids who help with shopping and meal preparation are more likely to eat healthy foods.  Junior Leagues also offer a comprehensive website with materials that interest both kids and parents. An online recipe collection features downloadable kid-friendly, nutritious recipes from celebrities, chefs and athletes, as well as an educational interactive game provided by Cartoon Network, the exclusive kids media partner of Kids in the Kitchen.  Kids and their parents can also access downloadable nutrition and exercise tips and quizzes to test kids on their nutritional knowledge. The Kids in the Kitchen website can be found at http://kidsinthekitchen.ajli.org

Hundreds of thousands of children and their families will continue to have the opportunity to enrich their lives and palates with recipes, tips and activities from Junior League members through the Kids in the Kitchen initiative.  The Junior Leagues believe that education and hands-on involvement in healthy meal preparation are the first steps to making a lasting change in our children’s future.

Run & Jump & Play

Calgary, Alberta – October 6, 2008– The Junior League of Calgary (JLC) and Storehouse 39-3-10 (S39) were pleased to partner with WordFEST to launch the new Run & Jump & Play program with a special visit from author Sheree Fitch.

Run & Jump & Play is a free kindergarten preparation and parental education program that was created by a collaborative partnership between Storehouse 39-3-10 and the Junior League of Calgary in response to City of Calgary statistics which indicate that 21% of all individuals living in poverty are children and single parent low income families comprise approximately 48% of this group. The partners recognized that impoverished children between the ages of two and five were falling between the cracks at a time that was critical in terms of the development of their physical, mental and social well being.  The Run & Jump & Play program served as a resource for nurturing and working with these children and their parents in their formative years to give these children a positive beginning to school and life and to help break the cycle of poverty.  

The program was held at the Calgary Church of Christ in three eight-week sessions during the fall, winter and spring of 2008-2009. Run & Jump & Play reached children, ages two to five, and their caregivers, who had been referred to the program by NeighbourLink Calgary and other social service agencies. The curriculum was delivered in 90 minute segments once a week by trained class facilitators from the Junior League of Calgary and the Further Education Society of Alberta. Each session consisted of four weeks of a Pre-Literacy class followed by four weeks of a Visual Literacy class, running concurrently with eight full weeks of Music & Movement and a Parental Education class. The children’s classes offered story telling, drawing, dancing, music, marching, jumping, fun games, counting and social interaction.

The Parental Education classes allowed caregivers to discuss and share experiences on topics such as: reading and writing as a family; how to share books with your children; building parenting skills; self-esteem and positive discipline; nutrition and food shopping skills; dental and eye health.   

October 14th, 2008 

On Tuesday, October 14, there was a special guest visit to the Run & Jump & Play class by WordFEST author, Sheree Fitch.  As part of Run & Jump & Play’s Bi-Annual Literacy Event Series in partnership with WordFEST, Sheree Fitch, a multi award-winning writer, speaker and educator and the author of twenty-three books read to the families and shared some of her favourite books like If I had a Million Onions, There’s a Mouse in My House and Persnickety Pete.

October 28th

On October 28, the Music and Movement program of Run & Jump & Play became a 'brush and floss program'. Two dental assistants from Dr. Brian Killick‘s office, Dentrix Dental Care, visited for the morning and caught the children‘s attention immediately with a big green alligator who needed help brushing his teeth. The alligator also had a nasty habit of squirting water out of his mouth, much to the delight of the boys.

The dental assistants explained the importance of brushing and flossing and read a story about visiting the dentist. After the story, it was time to try it for themselves. The children busily practiced brushing their teeth with their new toothbrushes, but the main attractions were the sugarless suckers given to the younger group and the bright bouncy balls that the older children sent careening all over the gym (at least until Miss Marilou corralled them in her pockets!). The dental floss was a mystery – but great fun to unravel! Toward the end of the morning, Dr. Killick joined us singing the 'caterpillar‘ song. He sat down between two boys encouraging them to walk their caterpillar fingers down to their toes. A Shaw TV photographer captured two boys vigorously demonstrating their tooth brushing skills.

While the dental assistants were busy captivating the children with the big green alligator, Dr. Brian Killick spoke to the parents, who were equally enthralled. Dr. Killick showed several slides and distributed a booklet for parents to take home that summarized all his points.  He reviewed the importance of proper dental hygiene and covered many other points including:

• if you can‘t brush their teeth after a meal, eating cheese or sugarless gum will neutralize the acid that causes tooth decay
• why parents should not give bottles of juice to babies when they go to bed
• thumb sucking after the age of about 3 years can put teeth out of alignment

The visit provided a unique opportunity for the parents to have the undivided attention of a professional. Many had questions and Dr. Killick spent time with each of them to address their concerns. His visit was a valuable addition to our program and we would like to thank him and his staff for all their preparation to ensure their visit was a success. Dr. Brian Killick is with Dentrix Dental Care in Market Mall.

November 4th, 2008

On November 4, Run & Jump & Play hosted Christine Almiron, Outreach Coordinator at the Village Square Branch of the Calgary Public Library in Marlborough. In addition to giving the participating families free library cards, Christine held several story-telling sessions. For the older children she read "Bark, George, Bark" by Jules Feiffer and "Who Hops?" by Katie Davis. Christine also shared  felt books to encourage participation by the children—a big hit!

They played with the felt pieces of  "Very Happy Caterpillar" by Eric Carle and  "Dear Zoo" by Rod Campbell.   Later in the morning, Christine sat down on the floor with the younger children and read "Colour Me Happy" by Shen Roddie and Ben Cort and "Peek-A-Moo" by Marie Torres Cimarusti. Thank you Christine and the Calgary Public Library for a great morning!
 

Teen Christmas Totes

24 November 2008

The JLC office was a hive of activity on November 24th. Members gathered to socialize, enjoy sweets and savories, hot spiced cider, holiday music and camaraderie before going around and around the table to assemble the Teen Christmas Totes. Personal hygiene items like shampoo, deodorant, Kleenex, and soap, toques and gloves, dental hygiene products including toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste, teen magazines, coupons for food, sporting events and movies, perfume packets, gift cards, books, decks of cards, free eye exam certificates, candy canes and a holiday greeting card from JLC were placed into each bag. Leftover toques and gloves were donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Calgary. Other remaining items were donated to NeighbourLink for their "Gifts for Gals" program.  Staff from the Calgary Dream Centre transported the bags from the JLC office to their facility and marvelled at the quantity of bags!

6 December 2008

A group of local social agencies and community organizations planned an event called "Together for Christmas" at the Calgary Dream Centre to reach Calgarians in need.  Guests to the event received transportation to and from home, a traditional holiday meal with all of the fixings, entertainment, activities for the children, a visit from Santa and gifts for younger family members. Teens at the event received Teen Christmas Totes provided by the JLC.  Junior League of Calgary members and their families were privileged to serve nearly 200 guests at one of the planned six meals and parties.

Drew Brown, co-chairperson of  "Together for Christmas" commented,  "Junior League is incredible both in their donation of the Teen Totes and in their volunteering at our event". He shared the appreciation expressed by many of the guests. Any Teen Totes not distributed at  "Together for Christmas"  will be donated to the Alex Community Health Centre Youth Clinic which provides services to homeless and at-risk youth in Calgary.

DIADS

Community Kitchen’s Good Food Box  Program

January 2008

On the evening of January 29 and the morning of January 30 we assisted the  Community Kitchen's Good Food Box Program by helping to pack the more than 1000 boxes a month that they send out into the community.  Each box contains the same mixture of food, although the contents change with the seasons.  Our job was to portion fruit for three different sizes of food boxes: Singles, Couples and Families.  Each size box required a different number of each variety of fruit.  So in the Junior League way, we quickly spotted a flip chart and used it to track the number of completed packages.  Here's what we accomplished:

Our efforts benefited 101 singles, 97 couples and 87 families who might otherwise not have been able to afford fresh fruits and vegetables without the reduced price offered in the program.  We also bagged 4,998 pieces of fruit, and had many laughs about who was "not knot challenged" as we tried to knot the plastic bags.  The following morning we finished bagging and boxing the rest of the fruits and vegetables and packed all the boxes for delivery.