NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 22, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Junior League of Orange County, Calif., (JLOCC) is holding a Kids in the Kitchen event 9 -11 a.m., Friday, May 21st, for 5th grade students at Hazard Elementary School in Santa Ana.
The event will feature booths offering fun activities to teach good eating habits, exercise options, and the importance of establishing healthy habits at an early age. Hands-on learning activities will include planting seedlings, using the hula hoop, "boot camp" basics, and a "healthy food game show."
Kandace McMenomy, a Newport Beach Clinical Exercise Specialist and Health Coach certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, will offer a presentation on the importance of eating well, especially at breakfast. She'll also provide examples of healthy meals and snacks to be consumed throughout the day. A 10-year veteran of the fitness industry, McMenomy works at Shape Up Chiropractic in Newport Beach. She offers boot camp classes at the beach in Corona del Mar and also leads a twice-weekly walking club. The Kids in the Kitchen event will also feature a local police officer who will discuss the importance of staying in school, listening to adults, and becoming physically fit. Orange County's state legislators have been invited to attend.
The Junior Leagues' Kids in the Kitchen is an Association-wide initiative of The Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) designed to help communities address the urgent issues surrounding childhood obesity and poor nutrition. The program was launched in 2006 by Junior Leagues in over 225 communities. By joining together to make an impact on the future health of our youth, Junior Leagues are committed to empowering today's youth to make choices that help them lead healthy lives. The initiative illustrates the power of voluntarism to address community problems on both the grassroots and international levels.
Key to the impact of the initiative is the Kids in the Kitchen website, which includes fitness and nutrition tips from Kids in the Kitchen program partners the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), American Dietetic Association (ADA), Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and many more. The Kids in the Kitchen website also includes a virtual recipe collection from celebrity chefs, local restaurateurs, celebrity moms and nutrition experts, designed to teach young children healthy eating habits at an early age. These recipes are available in electronic and downloadable formats on the website, http://kidsinthekitchen.ajli.org.
About the Junior League of Orange County, California, Inc.
The Junior League of Orange County, California, Inc., is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and the leadership of trained volunteers. JLOCC has contributed to Orange County by helping found organizations such as Orangewood Children's Home and the Volunteer Center of Orange County. As a solely educational and charitable organization, the JLOCC's trained volunteers actively support the community through collaboration with organizations that promote and support the health, safety and education of women and children. A 501(c)(3) organization, the JLOCC reaches out to women of all races, religions, and national origins. Originally founded in 1956 as the Newport Harbor Service League, the JLOCC is a member organization of the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. To learn more about the JLOCC, call (949) 261-0823 or visit www.jlocc.org.
Funds raised annually by the JLOCC directly impact the community through collaborative projects with partner organizations and support JLOCC's mission of promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community. This year's projects include the Orangewood Children's Foundation Kinship Project; Orangewood Mentoring Program Activities Project; Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Reading Program; Florence Crittenton Services Project; Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Emancipated Youth Program; Impact Orange County; and Bear Hugs, a JLOCC project supporting emancipated teens in Orange County.