Schools on the Move, a regional program to promote physical activity in children from 9 to 13 years old, last month presented a grant for $4,796 to Pine-Richland Middle School to fund a six- month health awareness program for seventh- and eighth-graders.

The money will be used to buy strapless heart rate monitors to measure students physical effort individually.

Middle school physical education teacher Sherry Warrick applied for the grant through the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The money is being used to buy four sets of 24 heart-rate monitors at $1,199 a set. Mrs. Warrick said she wants to ensure a set is available to each of the middle schools four physical education teachers.

The schools new monitors will usher in a program titled, Target Your Heart, in which all seventh- and eighth-grade students will participate in heart healthy physical activities and educational discussions, Mrs. Warrick said.

A different health issue is highlighted in each of the six months.

In the first month, students will become acquainted with using the monitors by calculating their resting heart rate, maximum heart rate and target heart rate zone, and will learn the importance of training within their target heart rate zone and will begin to keep a training log.

Next, students will learn about heart disease risk factors and the importance of consistent physical activity and healthy eating.

In the third month, students will focus on obesity prevention.

Then they will discuss methods in promoting a healthy lifestyle.

In the fifth month, students will improve cardiovascular endurance through applying the FITT principles — frequency, intensity, time and type — to their cardiovascular training.

In the final month, students will review the five focus areas.

The program also will provide online discussions through the schools blackboard application, and teachers will send monthly newsletters to parents about each months focus area, Mrs. Warrick said.

Our game plan is to teach kids these important topics and get the community and parents involved, she said.

Fellow middle school physical education teacher John Haddad said the programs curriculum reflects the five components of physical fitness: muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance and body composition.

Education in these areas will be coupled with physical activities such as push-ups, sit-ups, a sit and reach flexibility test and a mile run, along with various team sports, Mr. Haddad said.

The programs physical activities will encourage students toremain in healthy physical condition.

There is such a concern with childhood obesity and kids being overweight, Mr. Haddad said. Children arent as active as they used to be.

Complementing the programs physical activities, educational aspects will provide students with a sturdy foundation in living a healthy lifestyle.

This program will teach fitness techniques that [students] can take with them the rest of their life, Mr. Haddad said.

Mrs. Warrick said 25 percent of the middle schools 765 students are at or above the 85th percentile in body mass index.

To counter those statistics, students will strengthen cardiovascular endurance through participating in a mile-run pretest during the fall, and a post-test during the spring to evaluate student progress, she said.

Our goal is for students to finish in under 12 minutes, she said.

To evaluate student progress, height, weight, body mass index, resting heart rate and target heart rate zone will be collected at the beginning and end of the program, Mrs. Warrick said.

Mrs. Warrick said data collected from eighth-graders will be passed on to the high school physical education teachers so they are aware of incoming students physical conditions.

Although the middle school will not acquire heart rate monitors until next month, students will undergo a condensed version of the Target Your Heart program to finish up the school year, Mrs. Warrick said.

With grant funds provided by KDKA-TV, UPMC Health Plan, Del Monte Foods and HJ Heinz Co., the middle schools new assessment tool will serve as the programs cornerstone for student evaluation.

Its one of the best tools to measure individual target heart rates, Mrs. Warrick said.

Sometimes it takes a little technology to motivate kids, she said. Theyll be able to see the results on their wrist and it will cause them to work harder.

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A local advocate for childhood obesity for the past decade is Dr. Toni Moody, a pediatrician with her own practice in Apopka. She recently organized a bike rally that was held at Nap Ford Community School in downtown Orlando as part of her efforts to combat childhood obesity. For the last six summers, Moody has run a one-week camp where children can learn for free how to participate in vigorous physical activities while having fun. The Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children has sponsored programs with the goal of reducing childhood obesity. These programs include fun activities that raise awareness and teach life skills. The website related to these programs is http://www.floridahospitalforchildren.com/en/specialties-and-programs/health-and-wellness/obesity.

The Style Channel television program Too Fat for Fifteen: Fighting Back portrays childhood obesity in an eye-opening manner. This show is aired at 8:00 PM on Mondays. More details are available at http://www.mystyle.com/mystyle/shows/toofatfor15/index.jsp. National and local movements like the ones described in this article can go a long way in our battle against childhood obesity.

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$250,000 Donated to 26 Local Groups Targeting Health, Environment, Inclusion and Education

BEAVERTON, Ore. ?NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) today announced grants totaling $250,000 to 26 local nonprofits and schools through the Nike Employee Grant Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation. The fund, started in May 2010, has provided $500,000 in support, and will grant an additional $1 million over the next two years. The fund seeks to help local nonprofits or schools that wish to join Nike in creating positive social and environmental change, primarily through physical activity. A new grant cycle will run April 15-June 1 for funding in year two of the program.

?We continue to be excited by the creativity and innovation of the efforts we have been able to fund and the community impact that they have,? said Kathy Webb, Nike Employee Marketplace Manager, who chaired the Nike employee group overseeing the program?s selection process. ?In addition to financial support, we have been able to offer our employees a rewarding opportunity to volunteer with the same organizations we are helping fund.?

The Nike Employee Grant Fund awards are made to nonprofit organizations or schools in the greater Portland area (Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Yamhill, and Columbia counties in Oregon and Clark County in Southwest Washington) twice a year. Eighty percent of the Nike Employee Grant Fund donations are targeted to organizations that seek to affect social and environmental change through the lens of sport, and 20 percent is to be given to nonprofits making strategic efforts to improve the lives of children and families.

The program?s funding priorities are environment, education, inclusion, and health. The minimum grant is $5,000 and most do not exceed $20,000. Grant periods are one year or less and the largest grants are reserved for those with the greatest strategic impact. Complete guidelines, including which projects or organizations are not eligible for funding, are available at www.oregoncf.org/nike and Nikebiz.com.

The second round recipients and brief program descriptions are listed below:

Adelante Mujeres (Forest Grove, OR)
To provide an opportunity for young Latina girls to develop their leadership qualities and improve personal, family and community relationships through soccer.

lbertina Kerr Centers Foundation (Portland, OR)
To create a safe, healthy outdoor recreation space for adolescent boys in Albertina Kerr?s Intensive Treatment Program.

Boys amp; Girls Clubs of Portland Metropolitan Area (Portland, OR)
To improve the graduation rate of youth through targeted reading and writing intervention, with an emphasis on increasing self-esteem that leads to promoting healthy habits.

Children?s Justice Alliance (Portland, OR)
To engage families in physical activities in their communities, thereby helping families in which a parent has had criminal justice involvement to better parent their children.

Community Warehouse (Portland, OR)
To reduce waste and conserve resources by promoting reuse of furniture and household items through donations to families in need.

Concordia University (Portland, OR)
To create a structured environment in which children learn playground games, life skills, and conflict resolution.

De Paul Treatment Centers (Portland, OR)
To create a health and fitness program that will assist in providing recovering youth self esteem, a sense of community and a healthy life free from drugs and alcohol.

Gales Creek Camp Foundation (Gales)
To resurface the swimming pool and pool deck at summer camp for children with Type I diabetes.

Hillsboro School District (Hillsboro, OR)
To promote fitness in Lincoln Street students and families through Zumba fitness ? an aerobic fitness routine that incorporates Latin music and multicultural dance forms.

KEX Kids Fund (Portland, OR)
To provide no cost vision and hearing care to needy children in the Portland metro area.

Liberty High School (Hillsboro School District)
For the Liberty Fit program, providing every Liberty student not involved in a spring sport a unique opportunity to improve their physical, mental, and social health by training for a half-marathon.

Medical Teams International (Portland, OR)
Provide free dental care to low-income, uninsured children through a network of local partners in order to increase the range and accessibility of health resources.

Mount St. Helens Institute (Amboy, WA)
To introduce underserved Clark County teenagers to healthful hiking and climbing opportunities in Southwest Washington and create lifelong love for outdoor recreation.

Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp (Portland, OR)
To provide an accessible, new challenge course that empowers individuals with disabilities, builds confidence through teamwork, and provides an exciting outdoor experience.

Native American Youth and Family Center (Portland, OR)
To create an innovative dance program offering Urban Hip Hop classes, while engaging youth in physical activity and ultimately the Native traditional dance program.

Parkrose School District
To provide swim lessons and mentorship for underserved youth in the Parkrose School District.

Portland Fruit Tree Project (Portland, OR)
To expand the community harvest program, making more healthy food available to low-income families, and engaging more families in fruit harvesting activities.

Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (Portland, OR)
To develop and implement a sustainable fitness program in the Latino community that promotes health amp; wellness, while addressing physical, mental and social health issues.

Quest Center for Integrative Health (Portland, OR)
To fund groups, workshops, and supplies for women in treatment for breast cancer/survivors to heal physically, emotionally, and socially while developing self-advocacy skills.

Run Portland (Portland, OR)
To create school-based track and field programs at underprivileged middle schools in Portland.

SOLV (Hillsboro, OR)
To engage students in streamside restoration projects, a yearlong program through which the students learn about stream and wetland restoration and community leadership.

Street Yoga (Portland, OR)
To increase health and wellness in vulnerable and diverse communities through yoga and create opportunities for mentorship and leadership for individuals in these communities.

Tigard-Tualatin School District (Tigard, OR)
To increase school engagement and academic success among middle school students of color through participation in organized after-school sports.

VOZ (Portland, OR)
To engage immigrant workers and day laborers through a soccer program and a World Cup Tournament in order to improve community health and encourage cultural exchange.

Woape, Inc. (Brightwood, OR)
For ConnectBack program, creating access and support for youth through Mountain Bike and Hike to improve the health and well being of the youth and community.

Youth Guidance Association (Portland, OR)
To improve the recreational opportunities and physical health for residents at the Charis Ridge residential treatment program operated by Youth Guidance Association.

About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world?s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned Nike subsidiaries include Cole Haan, which designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; and Umbro Ltd., a leading United Kingdom-based global football (soccer) brand. For more nformation, visit www.nikebiz.com.

About The Oregon Community Foundation
OCF, created in 1973, is the largest foundation in Oregon, with assets of more than $1 billion. OCF?s endowment comes from thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations that have created more than 1600 funds from which grants are distributed to support the critical work that nonprofits are doing in Oregon. Grant and scholarship distributions in 2010 were approximately $60 million. OCF is governed by a volunteer board of directors and relies on more than 1600 volunteers around the state to provide local perspective on community needs.

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  Calgary firefighter Aaron Johnson stays in shape with the CrossFit program.Photograph by: Adrian Shellard, Postmedia News

Aaron Johnson had a fire in his belly to become a firefighter since high school, but it took him a few years to get there.

Embarking on a fitness and nutrition regime so he could meet the high physical standards to become a firefighter helped as he filled in the time with odd jobs.

&"When the time calls for it, you’re expected to be in shape,&" says Johnson, a 30-year-old firefighter and aquatics rescue specialist with the Calgary Fire Department.

&"There’s that incentive initially to get into decent shape just to obtain the job. Once you actually get (the job), people are looking for you to be in shape when it comes to helping them.&"

Shortly after high school, he stumbled across a California-based fitness regime on the Internet called CrossFit. It’s a workout program based on constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity.

&"It could be a five-kilometre run one day and the next you’re lifting a bunch of weights,&" says Johnson, who works out four to six times a week as part of his CrossFit training at a local gym, where he’s also a coach.

Firefighting, by its very nature, is challenging. You have to be ready for anything.

&"(CrossFit is) really good for firefighting because you can be asked to do some pretty weird things,&" he says.

&"It’s constantly changing, so the better I can mirror that in my training, the better I am for my job,&" he adds.

Once Johnson caught the fitness bug, he started getting into all kinds of other sports.

He took swimming lessons to work on endurance as part of his specialization in aquatics rescue. He tries to get in at least one triathlon a year and he recently took on the Canadian Death Race challenge — a 125-kilometre, 24-hour marathon in Grande Cache.

&"It’s a fairly lengthy little job,&" he says.

Johnson notes that &"variety is the spice of life&" and so he tries to incorporate as much variety as possible into his fitness and nutrition regime.

It’s a good match for CrossFit, which has become the principal strength and conditioning program for many police, fire and military organizations across North America since its beginnings more than a decade ago. The Calgary Fire Department, for example, provides the training to its new recruits through its training academy.

Rob Moss, another avid supporter of the CrossFit workout program and a fire captain, says he’s noticed a strong improvement in his endurance and overall performance while firefighting.

Before finding CrossFit, he spent years doing the typical weightlifting workouts found in muscle magazines.

&"These workouts didn’t better my athletic performance at the intensity level required for either work or play,&" says Moss.

Physical fitness is only one part of the equation, though. Johnson says having colleagues join him at the gym and on other physical activities helps keep him motivated.

&"You’ve got a lot of support coming from a lot of different angles,&" he says.

Nutrition is also critical to maintaining fitness and overall good health.

&"Nutrition is key,&" says Johnson. &"You can do whatever you want for training and working out . . . but if you’re putting crap into your body, you can’t really expect much.&"

He recommends people avoid focusing on the numbers on a scale and instead observe improvements in their overall health and fitness as they progress in their workout program.

&"There are a lot of people who come in with weight loss as a major goal and that’s fine, but I try to discourage people from looking at numbers on a scale,&" says Johnson.

&"You could lose a lot of body fat and gain a lot of muscle mass, but if you’re constantly looking at a scale, you may not see the changes you’d like.&"

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