Pioneering Healthier Communities

I have been here in Washington D C for a conference on Pioneering Healthier Communities, sponsored by the YMCA. Our presenter this morning was Marlene Schwartz, PhD, who is the Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Here organization has been in dialogue with fast food restaurants, including McDonalds, about making the "default setting" to children's meals more healthy. An interesting thing is that this morning in the Washington Post there was a full page ad, bought by McDonalds, telling how they have changed the basic Happy Meal to include less fat, less sodium and include fruit! This is exactly what our speaker and the Rudd Center has been advocating.

How timely

A Picnic for 700 Kids!

It is pretty hard to get adequate photos of a picnic for about 700 children. This I learned yesterday, July 15, at Lincoln Park in Rock Island. The event that gathered all these children was the last day celebration for the Rock Island Parks and Recreation summer program for children.
So groups arrived in busses from several programs:

• Rock Island Parks and Recreation had their groups from the Academy, from the Math and Science Center and from Ridgeview Elementary Schools.
• The Martin Luther King Center summer program was there.
• The Family Literacy Program from the Church of Peace came on a bus.
• Valley View Homes program was there.
• Casa Guanajuato was represented.
• The program by Rock Island Housing Authority that meets at Frances Willard School was there.
• Broadway Presbyterian Church program for refugee teens.
• I have this bad feeling that I am forgetting some of the programs.

Well, everyone enjoyed games in the park, a program on the stage and large inflatable toys that children can climb into. There was some coverage by the press and local television. The biggest single event was serving lunch to all these children, and some random folks in the park; grilled hot dogs, chips, watermelon, fruit cup, milk and scooped ice cream! While it was warm it was not too hot. Good day.

Lots of hard work by staff and volunteers.

Summer Readers

For the elementary school age children enrolled in the Summer Family Literacy program at Church of Peace there is a big emphasis is on reading. So here are a group of summer readers in comfortable chairs in the lounge.

Different students use the chairs in different ways.

But clearly there is a lot of reading going on!

The Summer Family Literacy program at the Church of Peace United Church of Christ in Rock Island, Illinois, is supported by grants from the Doris and Victor Day Foundation, the Junior Board of Rock Island, and the Regional Office of Education.

First Day of Summer Family Literacy

Today, July 5, marks the first day of the Summer Family Literacy Program here at the Church of Peace. We cooperate in a similar program during the school year along with other partners. This summer we are doing the program on our own for the month of July.

Three are a few differences. During the school year the program is for parents and their pre-school children together. During the summer we are also providing a class for the elementary school age children of these families. So it is pre-school on the third floor, elementary school age children in one classroom, at adults in two or three classrooms in the basement.

While it is our hope that the program will grow throughout the month we believe that this is a very good beginning.

Another difference during the summer time is that we will be able to provide a light breakfast and lunch daily for the participants.

A very busy first day back after the 4th of July!

This Family Literacy program for the month of July is generously supported by grants from the Doris and Victor Day Foundation, the Junior Board of Rock Island and the Regional Office of Education. We are grateful for their gifts to aid these families.