June 15, 2007 In an effort to combat childhood obesity, The Sigma Sigma Lambda (SLL) chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc will be holding its 3rd Annual Healthy Kids Clinic on Friday, July 13 from 9 A.M to 1 P.M. This event will take place at the Alcy/Ball Community Center located at 2107 Ball Road. This annual initiative combines health awareness, fun, and physical activity for children. With obesity, diabetes, and heart disease becoming more prevalent among kids in the African-American community, physical activity is a vital part of maintaining healthy lives. However, kids today spend most of their free time inside playing video games instead of enjoying the outdoor activities of yester-year. Since the formation of SLL in 2004, the chapter’s primary focus has been on providing uplift within the community. We, as young African-American professionals, realize the importance of our presence in the community. One of the mandates of Omega Psi Phi set for each chapter is to participate in a health initiative. SLL is committed to going above and beyond this mandate. With this desire in mind, the Healthy Kids Clinic was established. The prior two years of this event were held in Cordova and both events were very successful. However, with the entire city in need of health awareness, we decided to take the event to an area where it could be even more effective. More than 100 kids, ages 5 to 17, participate in this inaugural event. With the assistance of healthcare providers and other contributors, we were able to hand out educational materials for children and parents in attendance. Each kid also received a T-shirt. In order to make this year’s event a continued success, the men of Omega are asking healthcare providers to donate pamphlets, demo material, goodie bags, or even their time. There will be information tables set up and discussion groups for the kids and parents to receive helpful information on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. By promoting healthy living in these kids at an early age, we will begin to remove some of the barriers that have plagued our community for too long. Please contact myself or any local member of SLL about contributing your time, talent, materials, or monetary donation. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you,
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