Recent Stories
June 7, 2018
Thanks to Ready, Set, Healthy!™, a Novo Nordisk-Sponsored Program, 11 Trenton families spent Mother’s Day weekend at Frost Valley YMCA, in the Catskill Mountains of New York, enjoying a variety of indoor and outdoor activities focused on healthy eating, gardening and physical fitness. In total, 20 children and 11 adults, from two-months-old to age 67, took part in the weekend. Families were hands-on in the greenhouse and garden, learning about soil conservation, composting, planting, mulching and growing. Everyone got their own flowers to plant and take home so they can watch them grow. A bit of rain could not stop the kids from riding the zipline, which towers 120 feet in the air and requires walking up three flights of stairs to the launch. Children under age eight were safely harnessed into the flying squirrel, a kind of “mini-zip line” with a lower altitude. Other outdoor adventures […]
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June 7, 2018
Nearly 150 babies in strollers flexed their political muscles with their parents during the Strolling Thunder New Jersey demonstration held at the Trenton Statehouse on Monday, May 21. The goal of the rally was to remind lawmakers to remember families at budget time. “We need more affordable child care and a more generous paid family leave law that would double time off from six weeks to 12 weeks after a child is born or adopted,” stated Cecilia Zalkind, President/CEO Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), which sponsored the event. New Jersey is home to more than 300,000 children under age 3, with 66 percent living in families where both parents work. Young children develop best when they spend enough time with their parents to build strong bonds, but in 2016, fewer than half the babies with working parents received family leave benefits. “The YMCA is one of the largest […]
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June 7, 2018
Camden Night Gardens on Friday, May 18th marked the first event of the 2018 Connect the Lots summer season. The free event included live music from local bands, dance performances, art installations, fireworks, and a car show. A full line-up of programming and special events for the season was also announced. Connect the Lots offers a wide variety of activities to engage Camden residents and to reinvigorate parks and underutilized spaces in Camden neighborhoods,” said Kris Kolluri, CEO of Cooper’s Ferry Partnership. The season’s other major events include Camden’s Got Talent, the city’s third annual talent show, on June 28that Dudley Grange Park; the Camden Peace Games, a citywide basketball fest, on July 28th at Von Nieda Park; and the Camden Jam: Arts and Music Festival on September 9th. This year, Connect the Lotshas expanded its reach in underutilized spaces to include Camden’s waterways. The first annual “I Paddle Camden” […]
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June 7, 2018
It’s been 10 years since the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance kicked off Healthy U, a collaborative partnership program designed to combat childhood obesity through nutrition education, physical education and family involvement. On Friday, May 18, more than 100 Healthy U Champions and partners from the New Jersey YMCAs and schools came together to celebrate 10 years of impact during the NJ YMCA State Alliance Healthy U Spring Symposium. The Symposium was held at the MetLife Stadium and included a formal program with remarks from Jonathan R. Pearson, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Executive Director of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey,and Dr. Darrin Anderson, Executive Director NJ YMCA State Alliance. Keynote Speaker Golden Martinez, founder of GetFocused.org talked about how we can be all Hero Makers through our interactions with children. Duncan […]
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June 7, 2018
Winter is finally over, and June is in full bloom! While local crops and produce are ripening, farmers and communities are gearing up for another Farmers Market season. New Jersey is proud to host a number of community markets during the month of June. Farmers Markets help residents gain access to fresh foods, support healthy communities, and increase revenue for local Jersey Fresh farms. Four markets in New Jersey are bringing fresh local food to the communities that need them most. The market accepts SNAP benefits, Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program Vouchers, Senior vouchers and Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Vouchers (WIC). If you’re in Mercer County, Check out the Greenwood Ave. Farmers Market in Trenton Location: 427 Greenwood Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08609 (behind the Trenton Transit Center) Open every Monday (except holidays) from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm from June 11th, 2018 – October 15th, 2018 The […]
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May 11, 2018
Plans are underway for the 2018 Building A Culture of Health in New Jersey Conference. The Conference will be held on Wednesday, November 28 at a new location, the Palace at Somerset Park, 333 Davidson Ave. Somerset, NJ. This year’s theme is “Thriving Communities Transform Lives.” More workshop details, as well as featured speakers, will be forthcoming over the coming months. Last year, more than 500 public health professionals, social workers, educators, dieticians, and community leaders from across the state attended the conference. The conference is co-sponsored by the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids, New Jersey Department of Health, Rutgers University Family & Community Health Sciences, Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, American Academy of Pediatrics—NJ Chapter, Atlantic Health System, Family Health Initiatives, Mental Health Association in New Jersey, Inc., New Jersey Health Initiatives, New Jersey Hospital Association, New Jersey YMCA State Alliance, Partners for Health Foundation, Robert Wood […]
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