Photo By Amber Osei | The Oklahoma National Guard’s Family Program Office held a “Health Rocks!” event...... read more read more
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OKLAHOMA CITY–As one of the many states battling obesity, the Oklahoma National Guard’s Family Program Office hosted the inaugural “Health Rocks!” event for more than 50 children on Saturday to promote healthy lifestyles.
The event helps reinforce healthy habits for youth and families by providing a variety of classes, such as “Fooducate”, Zumba, Martial Arts, and resiliency training.
“Almost everything we do is rooted and grounded in resiliency,” said Oklahoma Army National Guardsman 1st Lt. Rebecca Rudisill of Las Cruces, New Mexico, deputy child and youth program coordinator.
Most of the volunteers serve in the Oklahoma National Guard and received extensive training on resiliency. With this, the Family Program Office teaches that resiliency to those service member’s families, especially during deployments.
“The overall goal for us is to teach these kids about resiliency, know their core strengths and know how to hunt the good stuff,” Rudisill said.
Pfc. Michael Degarmo of Choctaw, Oklahoma, grew up attending child and youth program events and chose to stay on as a volunteer upon graduating high school and after joining the Oklahoma Army National Guard.
“Really what it comes down to is the fact that I can help others,” Degarmo said. “I can help the children who are going to have their parents deployed.”
Among the event’s volunteer instructors was Oklahoma State Department of Health’s John Friedl of Lawton, Oklahoma.
“They said they were doing a health event and I wanted to come help out,” said Friedl, who taught the “Fooducate” class that focused on healthy eating habits and common misconceptions about healthy diets.
Additional volunteers included members from the 4-H Military Partnership, who helped educate the children on healthy eating by bringing a “Blender Bike”, a stationary bike that manually operates a blender when pedaling. The inventive exercise also provided participants with smoothie recipes.
Zumba and Martial Arts instructors also contributed to the event physical by giving instruction over a multitude of exercises more appropriate for children.
While coming together with local organizations, the Oklahoma National Guard’s Family Program Office hopes to continue the event annually in order to further educate children and family all over the state.
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2016 16:52 |
| Story ID: | 198785 |
| Location: | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, US |
| Hometown: | CHOCTAW, OK, US |
| Hometown: | LAS CRUCES, NM, US |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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