In the final service trip of the semester, Fitness for Life celebrated Christmas with the students at Spruce Hill today.  The children celebrated Christmas with soft pretzels, fruit juice, candy canes, holiday music, and Christmas-themed games, all of which were provided and organized by the Fitness for Life team.  The FFL group also offered presents to the school, donating two large exercise balls for student use.

A huge thank you to Tiffany Yu, Philanthropy Chair of Phi Gamma Nu, for donating $100 on behalf of her fraternity to make this event possible!

Please feel free to view pictures of this event.

During Playworks' Power of Play training session on October 22, members of Fitness for Life had the opportunity to meet many different volunteers working in a school or teaching environment, ranging from those that were in elementary education in East Asia to those that led activities for West Philadelphia kids during school recess.  During the whole presentation, there was an emphasis on the topics of cooperation, inclusion, healthy play, and respect.

The Playworks volunteers showed FFL members activities that were played in a way that allowed the kids both to be safe and to learn.  One game, for example, was  known as triangle tag.  In this game, three kids held hands in a triangle and one person outside had to try to "gently tag" the king, who was one of the kids in the triangle.  This activity not only served as exercise, but also demonstrated teamwork with the two guard kids trying to protect the king within the triangle.  The scuffling and movement also taught skills similar to those utilized on defense in basketball.  Other tag games also were win-win games—students could re-enter after performing ten jumping jacks—and people switched roles.   Overall, the Power of Play team taught the FFL members that competition, while it is important, can deter some kids sometimes.

Fitness for Life earned a certificate for completing this professional training session.  Please feel free to browse the pictures taken during this event.

Below is a recommendation letter that the principal of Spruce Christian School wrote on behalf of Fitness for Life to support the group's application for CHAC recognition, praising the efforts of the organization and all of its members.  Thank you all again for dedication to FFL and commitment to combating obesity.

At the end of this afternoon's visit, the students at Spruce Hill presented FFL members with a number of thank-you cards, drawings, and posters.  The cards and posters were emblazoned with phrases such as "Crazy games," "Thank you Penn!  We love you guys!" and "Exercise rocks."  They also bid farewell to the FFL members after wrapping the last school visit of the spring semester.  Photos of the visit are available.

Thank you all members for your unwavering dedication to fighting obesity in West Philadelphia!

In a guest speaker event, Dr. Joseph Libonati, Assistant Professor of Nursing, spoke this evening about the benefits of exercise from a cardiovascular perspective.  Thank you to all members who came out to this very engaging and informative event.

Please feel free to view pictures of the event or read the notes taken during Dr. Libonati's presentation.