By Taki S. Raton
The Milwaukee affiliate of the Black Child Development Institute (BCDI) will host its “Family, Fun, Food & Fitness” initiative Sat., April 9 at the Next Door Foundation, 2545 North 29th Street from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In cooperation with Walmart, the Educare Center and the Next Door Foundation, event highlights will include health and fitness workshops, healthy food cooking demonstrations, community resource booths, gift certificates for SHARE Mobile Market Shopping and prizes.
With Walmart support, BCDI has a focus on this Saturday’s event with parents of children ages 3 to 5 to strengthen and expand pertinent information for healthy eating, food preparation, and positive lifestyle guidelines to assist cultivation of good habits in these early formative years.
Invited resource partners providing community services to parents include The American Cancer Society, The Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative, Chef Deborah of “Expressively Your Personal Chef Service”, Children’s Hospital , the Blood Center of Wisconsin, and Randy Dillion of Strictly Fitness.
The SHARE Mobile Market will be available to introduce attendees’ to healthy foods at affordable cost. The Mobile Market brings high quality foods to metro Milwaukee neighborhoods where families can save 30 to 50 percent as compared to retail prices.
SHARE Mobile Market gift certificates valued at $25 will be available for food purchases on Tues., April 19 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Next Door Foundation location. Parent must be present at the April 9 workshop to take advantage of this offering. “Often as parents, we are so driven to provide material things like the big house, cell phones, and the latest electronic games for our children while at times neglecting their physical needs,” says Carmen C. Ray, BCDI project advisor for the “Family, Fun, Food & Fitness” day and co-author of the title “Raising Healthy Children in an Unhealthy World.”
She adds that “while our attention might be on those matters external, we spend time chasing after things we don’t need and that by the end of the day, we may not feel up to participating in any physical activity. All we might have energy left is for the nearest fast food drive-thru. This partnership with Walmart and NBCDI provides solutions and strategies to improve wellness for busy families.”
For additional information on and registration for this Saturday’s BCDI event at the Next Door Foundation, please call Sunny Peete at (414) 562-2929, ext. 145.
