#state values

Hey there all you #HealthMonth celebrators! Have you checked out BeFitNYC yet? It’s a search engine for free and low-cost fitness activities in New York City. You can find programs, classes, facilities, and leagues in the Parks Department’s properties as well as partner groups!

Who knows…you might find your new favorite Saturday morning activity!

Detroit: where you’re more likely to be a victim of violent crime than you are anywhere else in America. Almost 80% of Detroit’s students live in poverty. Only 50% of Detroit citizens are functionally literate. What happened to “The Paris of the Midwest”?

  Drew Philip wanted to “prove that this American vision of torment could be built back into a home” And he wanted to do it without anyone’s help. With a snow shovel, pitchfork, chainsaw, and a bottle of jack, he renovated an abandoned house into his home.

Evann is a 20-something health and fitness blogger living in New York City. She loves to work up a sweat, volunteer for She’s the First, and explore new areas of the city. Evann grew up dancing and worked at the campus fitness center during college but dropped her usual level of activity once she started her career. She started back up with boutique fitness classes through Classtivity (indoor cycling, bootcamp, barre, etc.), running her first half marathon, and training for her second, and has seen quite the transformation. 

If you want to connect with Evann, you can find her online here:

Blog: http://evannclingan.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/evannclingan

Instagram: http://instagram.com/evannclingan

STATE: Why do you think health and fitness should be a priority?

Evann: Exercising and maintaining a balanced diet are important because without your health, you don't have the opportunity to achieve other goals in life. You only get one body, so it's your responsibility to care for it. I find that if I exercise and eat well, I sleep better, work more productively, and think more positively. I'm also a big believer in balance and doing what's best for your body on any given day. Mental health is just as important as physical health.

STATE: Do you have any suggestions for people wishing to be more active but are unsure of how to fit it in to their schedule?

Evann: It can be tough for young professionals to adjust to a work schedule and still find time to be active. You have to find what works for you. For some people, that will be signing up for a traditional gym and going before work. For others, it will be taking fitness classes at different times throughout the week. You can also use apps like Nike Training Club or programs like Crunch Live to work out whenever you have 15 minutes at home. Don't be hard on yourself if your schedule changes and occasionally prevents you from exercising. Making little changes like taking the stairs or getting off the bus a stop early can make a big difference.

STATE: How do you start the day off on a healthy note / what’s your morning routine like?

The Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger is the largest emergency feeding program in New York City, providing the basic staples of a well-balanced diet to more than 12,000 unduplicated, low-income individuals a month from over 170 zip codes throughout the city. In 2013, BSCAH provided enough food to make over 2.9 million meals and have provided over 18,000 community residents with health education. Rather than handing out pre-packaged grocery items, BSCAH allows its clients to select fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and other staple items according to their preferences - much as they would in a supermarket. Because of this set-up, many children don't know they are at a pantry. 

If you want to connect with the Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger, you can find them online here:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bscah

Instagram: @BSCAHNYC

Twitter: @BSCAH

STATE: How did BSCAH get started? 

BSCAH: BSCAH was started by Dr. Melony Samuels 16 years ago in a church basement, serving only 50 families each month. Today, we are a non-sectarian operation serving 2.9 million meals annually to New Yorkers in need. Our monthly average is about 27,000. 

STATE: In addition to providing food to the hungry, what other programs do you offer to your clients?

BSCAH: We offer a menu of wrap-around services to combat poverty and hunger. In addition to our pantry services we screen and enroll families in affordable healthcare and SNAP (formerly food stamps.) We operate an after-school and summer program for students geared towards nutrition and urban farming, we operate a state of the art urban farming program which employs sustainable technology and produces over 30,000 pounds of food each year. 

Our farm is also home to a sliding scale farmer's market and community education classes and workshops. We offer resume assistance, linkages and referrals to other community based organizations, job placement assistance, provisions of (new) clothing and household items and during the tax season we prepare and file income taxes for poor and working class families at no cost. This tax season we processed over one million dollars of refunds for our neighbors.

STATE: How can those who live in the community get involved?

BSCAH: Great question! We have been extremely successful in a small space and with a small staff. We credit much of our success to our over 200 volunteers which help us tremendously each year. We welcome and treasure volunteers, they can contact our volunteer coordinator at [email protected] 

So proud of the people who choose to share their inspiring stories with us to redeem STATE Badges.#STATEvalues

10-year-old Hunter is not just worthy of STATE's Courage badge, he has also - without a doubt - earned our Knowledge badge after having performed the Heimlich maneuver on his best friend Carter until the piece of candy that was stuck in his throat, finally came out.

"It wasn't a HUGE deal," Hunter said.

At STATE, we always want to recognize people that live by our six core values; Health, Conservation, Courage, Acceptance, Leadership, and Knowledge. In this particular case, Hawaiian second grader Eileen Parkman could not have set a better example when standing up for a fellow student.

Last year, on a schoolyard in South Maui, an autistic student was beaten by five other students, forcing him to lay down in a fetal position on the ground. While others looked on, 9-year-old Eileen Parkman, had the courage to walk up to the kids and ask them to stop.

"It isn't the right thing to beat up people. It's the right thing to help people," Eileen said when reflecting back on the incident. "I went up to the kids, and I asked them politely to stop... even though I was scared."

Eileen had to suffer the consequences of defending her fellow student, as the bullies immediately turned their attention to her. The boys pushed her to the ground and started stepping on her hands and arms while Eileen kicked them to get away.

After the incident, Eileen continued to be a target of the bullies, and as her father was not satisfied with the school's disciplinary actions, she is now being tutored privately.

But Eileen's courage did not go unnoticed. On March 8, 2013, The Maui Autism Center presented Eileen with a bravery award, and founder Howard Greenberg called her a hero. "She defended this boy because of her courage," he said.

Greenberg called for "more kindness in the school system,” as every day 160,000 children don't go to school because they are afraid of being bullied.

What will you do to help us improve the school system and keep our children safe?