Where the Money Goes

Dear Friends,

I'm sure you are interested to know where your money will go when (I must be optimistic and not say "if"...) you donate to Team for Kids. Much like George Washington, I cannot tell a lie (unless it is to spare someone's feelings), so I will be honest about why I decided to run for Team for Kids. [Shelley refers to this phenomenon as "diarrhea of the mouth." He says that there is no need to tell everyone every single thing I am thinking and/or feeling and that choosing not to reveal a piece of information is not necessarily a lie of omission. My husband used the phrase "diarrhea of the mouth" each time we left a pre-marriage counseling session, but I am sure he meant it lovingly. Haha.] Anyway, the reason I chose to run for Team for Kids is that...drum roll please...it claimed to have the lowest pledge commitment. [I know, I know, much like Giles Corey in The Crucible "I'll burn long enough for that one." He, of course, is referring to accidentally tattling on his wife Martha. Oh, I must stop with these random digressions!] Anyway, here is a link to the "Where the Money Goes" section of the Team for Kids website.

http://www.nyrrfoundation.org/get_involved/team_for_kids/money.asp

I know that one of the reasons it is important to provide under-served children with access to physical fitness opportunities and nutrition education is the dramatic rise of childhood obesity in America. Let me begin by saying that it is difficult for me to talk about--or even write about--obesity. Society is so cruel to those who are obese, and we all know that the shape of one's body has nothing to do with the kindness of one's heart! I definitely do not think that the "skin and bones" look should be heralded as some sort of goal to attain (though we know that some people are naturally thin), and I know that MANY people struggle a lot with issues involving food. Taking up childhood obesity as a cause feels like saying that there is something wrong with fat kids. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the minds, hearts, and SOULS of obese children, but the truth is that their sweet bodies will live a lot longer if they are healthy. [I also must point out that I feel awkward representing this charity insofar as I eat A LOT of ice cream and French fries, adore Coke, and think most vegetables are completely disgusting. Furthermore, my body weight is right at the upper echelon of the healthy range for my height, and I have this insecurity-related fear that people will say that this effort is--if not the blind leading the blind--than the somewhat-nearsighted leading the blind. But, I digress...yet again...but WHOOPS...I also meant to remind y'all that we cannot let the insecure portion of ourselves overshadow the secure, confident portion of ourselves...because that's just silly. *smile*]

I've done a bit of research on childhood obesity, and I'd like to end this post with a few statistics that I found on the CDC's website. I'm sure I'll discuss childhood obesity more in the future, but I need the followers of this blog (if indeed they exist) to know that Team for Kids is doing something valuable.

According to the CDC:

17% of children/adolescents from the ages of 2-19 are obese.

One of 7 low-income, preschool-aged children is obese.
[People may think that "poor" children in America don't have access to food, but
often what they have is access to cheap, unhealthy food.]

In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese children had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease while 39% of obese children had two or more CVD risk factors.

Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being reported among children and adolescents who are obese.

Obese children and adolescents are targets of early and systematic social discrimination.
[This is so sad, but humans can be awful, and society can be wretched!]


What I like about Team for Kids is that it emphasizes the fun of healthy living rather than using scare tactics, complicated jargon, or finger pointing. Please support my run for Team for Kids; together we can help under-served children live longer, healthier lives!

xoxo,
Allison