Contact: Kate Carpenter, Executive Director FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 414.881.1189
kcarpenter@americascores.org
MILWAUKEE, WI (April 13, 2012) – On April 20th, America SCORES Milwaukee student-athletes will share with the Milwaukee community what they learned over the past three months as participants in the UnitedHealth HEROES campaign. The campaign, developed by UnitedHealthcare and Youth Service America, educated and encouraged the children to focus on healthy eating and promoted physical activities within their community.
During the kick-off event in January, the students got hands-on experience as they learned about community gardening and ways to lead a healthy lifestyle with limited resources. In addition they learned how their environment directly and significantly impacted their health and the health of their community, and provided them the opportunity to develop service-learning projects that could affect positive change on health and obesity issues.
The following service-learning, community-based projects scheduled for Friday, April 20th represent the campaign’s focus and signify the culmination of the campaign.
— Rogers Street Academy (2430 W. Rogers St.) – Approximately 50 participants including 32 SCORES students, four SCORES coaches and SCORES students’ family members will take part in a community walk to Jackson Park (W. Forest Home Ave. and Kinnickinnic River Parkway). The group will leave the school at 2:45 p.m. and walk for approximately 40 minutes arriving by 3:30 p.m.. Then from 3:40 until 4:30 p.m. at the park, the students will participate in UnitedHealthcare’s healthy activity stations as they are cheered on by UnitedHealthcare’s health advocate mascot Dr. Health E. Hound.
— Lincoln Avenue Elementary (1817 W. Lincoln Ave.) – Thirty-two SCORES students and four SCORES coaches will invite all Lincoln Avenue Elementary students, along with their families, to an after-school healthy lifestyle fair that will start at approximately 3:00 p.m. and be held at the school. Fair stations will focus on how to prepare nutritious meals for the family, along with physical activities that are simple, fun, and effective for staying healthy and strong from adolescence through adulthood.
— Windlake Elementary (2433 S. 15th St.) – Thirty-two SCORES students, cheered on by four SCORES coaches and SCORES students’ family members, will partner with some of the 2012 Major Indoor Soccer League Champion Milwaukee Wave players after-school starting at approximately 4:00 p.m. to teach first and second graders the fundamentals of soccer on the school’s playground.
All SCORES participants and their families, including approximately 100 SCORES students, coaches and students’ family members from Hayes Bilingual Elementary and James Whitcomb Riley Elementary who will be building garden beds in preparation for the summer farming season in their
communities, will end their day of action by reflecting on their experiences while enjoying a healthy meal.
“The UnitedHealth HEROES program has been an extremely beneficial, hands-on opportunity for our students to take an active, team building role in improving the health of their community,” said Kate Carpenter, America SCORES Milwaukee Executive Director. “It’s through impactful programs like this supported by dedicated partners like UnitedHealthcare, Starbucks, Milwaukee Wave, State Farm Insurance and the Milwaukee Public Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative that our students are inspired to try and learn from attainable, life enriching experiences.”
A showcase of the students’ completed projects will be presented to the community at Uihlein Soccer Park (7101 West Good Hope Road) on June 1st.
For more information about America SCORES Milwaukee, visit americascoresmke.org .
ABOUT AMERICA SCORES MILWAUKEE
America SCORES is the premier, nationwide youth development non-profit organization that provides urban students an outcome-based, innovative and well-integrated program using soccer, poetry, and service-learning. The organization inspires urban youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world. America SCORES Milwaukee, one of the 15 cities America SCORES operates in, serves 160 students ages 8-11 in five urban Milwaukee schools. For more information, visit americascoresmke.org .
