Gena Bigler: Public service changed me, and I recommend it for all young people By Gena Bigler
Report on 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service From the Corporation for National & Community Service Newsroom
Fostering The Next Generation Of Social Entrepreneurs Through Service By John Gomperts
By Rachel Schumacher, Community HealthCorps Member at Community Health Center, Inc.
One-third of American children are overweight or obese.
Today’s children are the first generation likely to have shorter life spans than their parents.
These are shocking statistics that ring very true to what our country’s children face today. 
The daily routine that many of us who are now in our 20’s or older practiced throughout our childhood has seemingly disappeared. Playing outside afterschool has been replaced with video games and television. Active outdoor recess has been diminished to lend more time to preparing children for testing.
In 2004 and as a response to this trend, Connecticut-based Community Health Center, Inc. created Recess RocksTM with Kim Renee Thibodeau acting as the program designer. Recess Rocks is a fun, comprehensive movement enrichment program that helps fight childhood obesity and enhance learning for elementary school children. It is a low-cost and noninvasive way to offer seamless integration of heart-healthy exercise during and after school weaving together a variety of dance and movement techniques such as Nia, Zumbatomics, martial arts, yoga and more alongside joyful and upbeat music. These aspects help to engage children’s attention, spark their imagination, build self-esteem, improve discipline, and get kids fit in a fun way!
Recess Rocks consists of four main programs including recess classes, lesson plan tie-ins, celebrations, and workshops/trainings. The recess class, the most commonly used program, is designed to be the length of recess and is a great solution to indoor recess in the winter months. Every recess class includes four phases; warm up, heart-pumping action exercise, cool down with slower paced moves, and preparation for class time. To learn more about the other programs go to: http://recessrocks.com/program.php
Recently the Community HealthCorps team serving at Community Health 
Center, Inc. in Connecticut has been participating in many Recess Rocks programs. In November, we all took part in a Movement Instructor Training which prepared us to teach our own recess classes in local elementary schools which most of us are doing on a regular basis now.
In October, we were heavily involved in the filming process for the Recess Rocks theme song music video containing Recess Rocks choreography along with SteveSongs (of PBS) who wrote the theme song. We held auditions at all eight elementary schools in Middletown, CT where Recess Rocks got its start. Over 250 children auditioned and all were invited to be a part of the filming of the music video at Macdonough on October 28th. Community HealthCorps members helped with registering children, answering questions, managing bathroom and water breaks, overall crowd control, music playback, and demonstrating choreography during auditions, rehearsals and filming over and over again. The video launched in early 2012 and can be found on the Recess Rocks website along with an instructional choreography video: http://recessrocks.com/index.php.
President Obama Sends Fiscal Year 2013 Budget to Congress: Administration requests $1.06 billion for CNCS From Voices for National Service
‘No’–Nearly One Million Times By Michael Brown
AmeriCorps, Eager To Expand, Backed By Presidential Candidates By Eleanor Goldberg
Social Innovation Fund: Expanding the Impact of Promising Programs By Paul Carttar
Cochran receives Edward M. Kennedy Award From the Sun Herald
By Lesley Rohrbaugh, NACHC Community HealthCorps Data & Communications Officer
Whether you plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day or not, we can all take the time to send love to at least one thing – our hearts! With heart disease listed as one of the leading causes of death for both women and men (causing almost 25% of deaths in 2008 according to the Center for Disease Control), it’s vital that everyone knows the top factors which contribute to this disease. In adults, these factors include: inactivity; obesity; high blood pressure; cigarette smoking; high cholesterol; and, diabetes.
Many Community HealthCorps members try to combat heart disease and the contributing factors every day through the Community Health Centers in which they serve. In San Francisco (SFCCC), Community HealthCorps member Donald Moore provides one-on-one patient education related to cardiovascular chronic conditions and diseases in the clinic he serves in through a program called PHASE (Preventing Heart Attacks & Strokes Every day). He presents and assists patients during group visits or heart healthy presentations. In addition, he conducts follow up calls to assure patients are on track with their health goals.
Since September 2011, Community HealthCorps members have assisted community health centers patients in many preventative services related to the top heart health risk factors:
For more information about how you can celebrate your heart this Valentine’s Day or any day of the year, check out the following resources:
How will you celebrate your heart today?
Why volunteer programs like City Year, the Peace Corps and Teach for America reward children By Jeff Franco (Community HealthCorps highlighted!)
In tight job market, some grads volunteer: Getting hands-on experience before launching their careers By Leslie Mann
Mrs. Obama says community service changed her life By Natasha T. Metzler
By Alice Lehman, MCPN Community HealthCorps Member serving as a School-Based Health Educator
My supervisor told us at the beginning of our AmeriCorps experience that is it hard to see the results of preventive medicine. Since part of our role is to keep children at Stein Elementary School from needing the services of our community health centers, it is hard to document our successes since we would be tracking non-existent appointments. Thus far, this experience has shown me how under valued the work in preventative medicine is in America. Without those individuals working to educate the youth about healthy habits, I can only imagine how overwhelmed health clinics would be.
My partner and I work hard every day to convey health messages to children aged 5 to 18. Sometimes we leave the classes defeated. Instead of sharing our information with the children, we spent the whole lesson disciplining and trying to manage the classroom. I think I have said the phrase “touch your nose if you can hear me” a least 100 times. I have learned that teachers work hard and it is hard to see the results of their daily work.
AmeriCorps has taught me to celebrate the small victories and embrace the relationships I make during this service year. Last week I taught a puberty and relationships lesson to a class of 6th graders. The curious class giggled at the medical words and found bewilderment in the process of pregnancy. Upon completing the program with the children, a small shy girl handed me a folded up note and quickly scurried away. In her note she expressed how thankful she was for us to come in that day to teach her. Even though we spent only three days in that classroom, she stated she would miss us. A boy from the class approached us and asked if he could hug us goodbye. I often take what my teammates and I are doing for granted, as if our daily task are just part of the routine rise and grind. But these children reminded me how important and meaningful our service can be.
AmeriCorps Week Highlights the Value of Service By John Gomperts
A Look Back at Joplin: United We Succeed By Cecilia Muñoz
Stutzman trying to abolish agency: Finds fault with paying volunteers By Brian Francisco
Anti-volunteer Stutzman plan From JournalGazette.net
Iowa Program Puts Returning Veterans To Work From KCCI Des Moines
2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service Opens Registration By Bonnie Jean Adams
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