Athletes
Girl Talk and Atlanta Dream Sleepover
As a special treat right before the school season's start, Girl Talk and the WNBA's Atlanta Dream team held a sleepover sponsored by The Century Council for 300 middle school girls.
After the basketball game, the girls were invited to spend the night and take part in lots of fun activities meant to inspire and empower the girls to believe in themselves enough to make the good choices needed to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Included in the activities were meet and greets with the Atlanta Dream players and cheerleaders, as well as our very own Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking lesson plan and Ask, Listen, Learn interactive activity.
It was a fun night for all involved!
Meet Our New Ask, Listen, Learn Team Captain!
CONGRATULATIONS to Captain Jessica W. of Avoca, Iowa, the winner of our "Be The Captain of the Ask, Listen, Learn Team Contest"! Jessica's essay showed that she is dedicated to saying "YES" to a healthy lifestyle and "NO" to underage drinking and will be featured in the December Issue of Sports Illustrated: KIDS alongside a special VIP athlete! Stayed tuned for more about Jessica and our VIP!
Girl Talk at Julie Foudy Leadership Academy Today!
Girl Talk: Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking is making an appearance today at the New Jersey Julie Foudy Leadership Academy.
Julie Foudy, former USA Women's Soccer Team Captain, two-time Gold Medalist, and two-time World Cup Champion, launched the Julie Foudy Leadership Academy (JFLA) to spread the ideals she embodies. Students learn soccer from some of the best women's players in the world, and they are exposed to a multitude of leadership concepts they can cultivate for life.
Recognizing that female soccer players are role models to many teen girls, our Girl Talk program, developed in 2005, has been speaking at Julie's Leadership camps for five years and was even the sponsor of the 2007 Induction of the National Soccer Hall of Fame – the year when Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy were inducted.
Julie is such a star that she is also one of our famous Ask, Listen, Learn SuperStars. Be sure to check her SuperStar profile out.
We'll be posting picture from the event soon so be sure to check back!
Apolo and Yuki Ohno celebrate Father's Day with a special message
Just in time for Father’s Day, eight-time Winter Games medalist and Dancing with the Stars champ Apolo Anton Ohno and his father, Yuki Ohno, were interviewed by radio and TV shows all over the country to talk about the importance of a supportive parent as well as of an active and healthy lifestyle.
As a young teen, Apolo struggled with some of the same peer pressures and unhealthy choices faced by kids today. Due to a strong relationship with his father he was equipped to make healthy decisions and stay on the right track.
The shows will begin airing this weekend so keep an eye and ear out for them as you celebrate Father’s Day. Also, be sure to check out pictures from the event on our Ask, Listen, Learn blog.
Apolo has partnered with The Century Council and its Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix program to promote its message for kids to “Say ‘YES’ to a healthy lifestyle and ‘NO’ to underage drinking.” Ask, Listen, Learn's website, www.asklistenlearn.com, encourages kids to pledge to make healthy choices. The website features "SuperStars" like Ohno who send positive messages to kids.
The website also provides parents with information on talking to their kids. Yuki and Apolo’s relationship is a great example of how parents have the power to teach their kids to make smart decisions. The research shows that 65% of kids identify their parents as the leading influence in their decision not to drink alcohol. Healthy choices begin in childhood and continue through the teen years so talk to your kids now and talk to them often! They are listening.
United Reads, a great program for Washington DC's kids!
One of the programs what we support via out partnership with D.C. United is its United Reads program. For the past eight years, D.C. United has distributed books and a love for reading throughout schools in Washington DC.
We went to selected classrooms at Simon Elementary School handing out activities and free books to the students. United Reads issues a challenge to the students: commit to 15 minutes of both reading and physical activity every day for three weeks. After the three weeks, D.C. United returns and awards the students who’ve stuck to it!
We think this is a great way for D.C. United to give back to its community, and we’re very happy to help support this program. A big thanks to the kids of Simon Elementary Schoo. We hope they learned as much about hungry caterpillars as we did.
May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month!
We’re big believers in youth fitness. In talking with our SuperStars, we’ve heard over and over again that wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle was an excellent deterrent to underage drinking.
Furthermore, recent research by Harvard Medical School’s Dr. John Ratey indicates that aerobic exercise can have a stunning effect on emotional health and a child’s ability to learn. Not only does physical activity make our kids healthy, it can help them do their best in class.
That’s why we’re excited to hear Secretary Kathleen Sebellius declare May to be National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. We think that the healthier our kids are, the more receptive they’ll be to the message that underage drinking is not for them.
So go for a swim, a run, or ride your bike! Pick up a softball, a baseball, a volleyball! May’s a beautiful month to get outside and be active.