Meet some of our family members, volunteers, and partners (FIT Project Update)
Our LHCC Families in Training, or FIT project, is in full swing as we step into March and the first signs of spring, warmer weather and outdoor exercise time. I came across this quote and decided to dedicate this blog to our exercise programs and the families we serve. Here goes “If you don’t make time for exercise, you’ll probably have to make time for illness.” Robin Sharma
For the past six weeks our LHCC families have been able to benefit from on-site health education and vitals assessments, exercise classes and cooking classes. This month, our LHCC family has the opportunity to participate in a 5K run with a church partner.
Meet one of regular FIT project participants, Jessika, and her family of three kiddo’s Derrick (11), Fernando (6) and Brianna (4). In addition to our Tuesday family education and enrichment program, Jessika brings her family each Thursday evening to our facility at St. Andrews UMC on Archdale Rd for exercise classes that alternate between Zumba and stretching. Children simultaneously participate in sports and exercises while parents work up a sweat in the gym. Recently the number of participants has grown in response to the relaunch of our LHCC FIT Project, that launched in 2022, in partnership with Atrium and MCPH.
Parents like Jessika can be seen doing stretching classes under the watchful eyes of Abelsahid, or Zumba and circuit training, under the instruction of Karen, who is also our resident dietician. We are targeting specific wellness plans for our parent’s, managing elevated A1C. That’s medical code for diabetes risk levels. Fun fact. An A1C has many names. It can be called a hemoglobin A1C, glycated hemoglobin or HbA1c. Who knew, right? Overall, it's the blood sample that we collect when our volunteer nurses from Atrium want to see what average blood sugar is over the course of three months.
Jessika has already seen improvements in her health and wellness, as compared to the markers we obtained last summer. Our FIT project goal is to get everyone moving and healthy while identifying and preventing chronic heart disease. We are monitoring all sorts of things for each participant each month, like:
Weight and BMI,
Levels of sleep and exercise,
Blood pressure,
Diabetes risks,
Counting steps, calories, and
Water and balanced healthy meal consumption.
Jessika, along with many mom’s have already seen health improvements, evidenced by their A1C improvements and other markers, as compared to those established last summer. Jessika has truly embraced our fitness and wellness programs, as the big smile and vitals measurements will attest. She was also the first to register for a walk/run this month, at Central Church of God, called the Redemption 5K. Asked why she is so anxious to get healthy and do the run, she cheerfully responds that its good for her and her busy family. Incidentally, LHCC started a 5K tradition many years ago by participating in the annual YMCA Reindeer Romp. LHCC had almost 50 participants this past December on the LHCC FIT Team.
Jessika is also a recipient of weekly fresh vegetable bags that we are securing from our farm partner Jubilee Farms. To crown it all, we started cooking classes where our very own chef Sonya, provides hands on training for moms by incorporating the vegetables into traditional recipes so that the whole family can benefit from a healthy meal when they have wiped the sweat from their brows.
There are many Jessika’s, and her three cool kids. We are delighted to be able to offer these critical health services at no cost to our community in the South Blvd corridor, where many are without health insurance. If we can save one life through early detection of chronic heart disease or preventable illness, it would be worth our tireless efforts. For more information or to volunteer or participate, kindly email us at info@lhcclt.org and let us know your thoughts.
Keep making good choices when it comes to health and wellness. Your body (and family) will surely thank you later! “If you don’t make time for exercise …” well, you now know how that goes.
Thank you to all our LHCC FIT Project volunteers and partners for your support!
Brent Morris
Executive Director
March 2023
