Health & Nutrition at the Fairy Godmothers Prom Fair at Cheltenham Mall

It was a sincere pleasure to meet some of the young ladies during their quest for the perfect prom gown at The Fairy Godmother's Prom Fair at the Cheltenham Mall. I provided health and nutrition information to the young ladies as they hustled and bustled through the array of gowns and accessories. The Fairy Godmothers, Inc.'s mission is to help provide a special high school prom experience for qualified high school girls. A large selection of beautiful gowns are donated to the Fairy Godmothers and sold to the prom goers for $10! Shoes, accessories and makeup are also available to the young ladies for as little as $5! The Fairy Godmothers has chapters that holds prom fairs in several cities around the country.

The American Heart Association Heart Ball 2010

"WOW" is all I can say! Attending the Heart Ball was truly a night to remember. The event took place at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott. I was asked to not only attend this prestigious event, but to also say a few words along with my daughter, Zaire during the program. The Ball began with a cocktail reception and silent auction. I also had the sincere pleasure of meeting the beautiful Andrea Graham, Mrs N.E. Phila who was volunteering at the event. Then the guests went into the main stage area for a seated dinner and program. There was an exciting live auction with auctioneer, Renee Amoore. Ms Amoore is a successful business woman, owner and founder of The Amoore Group and in 2004, made history becoming the first female and African American to ever chair a Pennsylvania delegation to the Republican National Convention. Manuel Stamatakis was the 2010 Heart of Philadelphia Award Honoree. Mr. Stamatakis is founder, CEO of Capital Management Enterprises, Inc and the Chairman of the Board of the Drexel Univ College of Medicine. A dance party concluded the night and I have to admit that I was not expecting to jam the way that I did. Zaire and I had a great time on the dance floor! Can't tell the last time I enjoyed myself!

Exceed Magazine Radio Show

February is American Heart Month! The American Heart Association's mission is to "build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke."

The fabulous ladies from Exceed Magazine Radio Show, Katrena Patterson and Karen Adams focused this week's show on Heart Health. Christina Crews, Communications Dir for American Heart Assoc, Dr. Deborah Witt from Thomas Jefferson Univ and I were guest on their program. The discussion included heart disease, stroke, risk factors and prevention.

Visit http://www.exceedmagonline.com/ to learn more about Exceed Magazine and http://www.wnwr.com/ to learn more about the shows on New World Radio!

Fitness Workshop for Bright Futures Program

I love all of my speaking engagements and appearances but I absolutely adore any opportunity to engage children..."the little ones"! Today, I had the enjoyment of facilitating a health and fitness workshop for the preschoolers at Houston Elementary School. We had discussions on healthy foods and fun ways to get exercise inside of the house. I believe that I have the most fun when providing fitness workshops to children because no matter how silly I act, they just laugh out loud and try to out-silly me!! Here are some pics with the fun bunch from Houston's Preschool class!

American Heart Association's Annual Heart Walk

November 14, 2009 was an extremely proud and exciting day for me. On this day, the American Heart Association (AHA) had their annual Heart Walk at Citizens Bank Park and I was presented with the 2009 Lifestyle Change Award! The award is to recognize people who have made positive changes to impact their quality of life and improve their health. Three years ago, I was a size 16 with hypertension and by slowly changing my diet and incorporating physical activity, I managed to loose over 50lbs and now, a size 8/10. Not only did I improve my overall health, I became certified as a fitness instructor and developed a program, Baby Steps to Healthy Living (BS2HL). BS2HL facilitates fun and informative workshops to individuals, families and organizations on eating, exercise and positive emotional wellness.

Leading up to this event, organizations and individuals from all over the Delaware Valley raised money to help prevent Heart Disease and Stroke. The Walk was not only to raise money for research but to also commemorate loved ones and to celebrate survivors.

My daughter, Zaire is a stroke survivor and was amongst the many who were honored. She was given the opportunity to address the crowd to give her thanks to AHA and those who donated their time and money towards prevention of Heart Disease and Stroke.

Also part of the opening ceremonies were Mayor Michael Nutter, Brian McGarry-Heart Walk Chair, Dr. Patricia Sullivan who serves as the President of AHA's Board of Directors and also a Red Cap Survivor and NBC 10's Kristen Welker who was the MC!

Achieveability's Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Achieveability is a nonprofit organization in West Philadelphia that offers an array of services to its clients. Achieveability has been working to end poverty by helping single parent, low-income families and many who were formerly homeless. They offer education, housing, job readiness programs, and major steps towards home ownership! Achieveability has a new CEO, Marcus Allen whose overall goal is to grow the organization in order to guide those who they serve on the road to self sufficiency. Here are pictures from a ribbon cutting ceremony for one of their newly renovated properties in West Philadelphia that I attended.

Please visit Achieveability's website! Volunteer, send a donation...help those who help us!

http://www.achieveability.org/

Pediatric Stroke Conference

On October 25, 2009, I was privileged to attend Children's Hospital of Philadephia's Pediatric Stroke Conference. Dr. Rebecca Ichord, neurologist and Director of the Pediatric Stroke Program at CHOP presented a very interesting lecture about what happens in the brain during stroke. We also had presentations from a few of the hospital's physical, speech and occupational therapists. The icing on the cake was hearing from the parents of stroke survivors. I was honored to be one of the parents and shared my experience surrounding my daughter's bout with stroke. Some of the parents were asked to put their stories on paper and will be documented in a book called The Spirit of Hope- Stories of Pediatric Stroke Survivors and their Families. Book will be available for purchase in November!

*Group picture are of the co-authors of The Spirit of Hope

Women Against Abuse held their second annual iPledge Campain Press Conference on Drexel University's campus. The iPledge Campaign is a citywide anti-violence movement that calls on ordinary Philadelphians to help end violence at home and in the community. We all have a duty and responsibility to help curb domestic abuse. Not necessarily physically intervening but offering help to those involved. Assist your family member, friend or neighbor in getting resources in order for them to plan a safe escape. If you have a friend who is an abuser, talk to them and strongly encourage them to change their ways. One important fact that I learned was that when an abused woman is seeking a "protection of abuse order" from their abusers, SHE (not the police/sheriff) has to serve the order. WRNB's Mo'Shay LaRen is among a large group of concerned citizens fighting to change this. Women Against Abuse's website has a plethora of resources to get educated on the issue of Domestic Abuse. Take the "Pledge" against Domestic Violence at: http://www.ipledgewaa.org/

Baby Steps at Mt. Airy Family Practice

Baby Steps to Healthy Living is providing wellness workshops to a select number of patients at Mt. Airy Family Practice. The workshops will cover positve physical/mental health along with a fitness component.

Police Appreciation @ Houston Elementary School

Houston Elementary School's Home and School Association had Police Appreciation day for the men and women working out of the 14th Precinct. The 14th is a large district covering most of NW Philadelphia (East/West Mt Airy, East/West Germantown, W. Oak Lane). There was food (a massive spread..yumm), gifts and awards for the officers. I had a wonderful time at the event!!!

Street Games Philly

Talk about a fun event to support the community! Street Games Philly is just what it sounds like... double dutch, king ball, hop scotch, good ole fashion racing and more! The event focused on healthy lifestyles for families, not just the children. This is an initiative of the Jon Drummond Achievement Foundation. Olympic Gold medalist, Jon Drummond and Shelton Mercer teamed up with Councilman Curtis Jones and local professionals to make this day fun and exciting for everyone! As you can see, I was wearing shoes...trying to be cute! I kept thinking that I should've brought my sneakers so I could join the race. How many people can say that they ran against...uuhh, I mean got dusted by an Olympic Gold Medalist?! There were also speakers, a comedian host "Kevvy Kev", former Eagles, Mike Quick and Fred Barnett, performers and the event ended with one of my favorite groups, Kindred the Family Soul!

Fundraiser for St. Martins de Porres Parish

This event was a fashion show/luncheon to support the Women of St. Martins de Porres Parish in Philadelphia.

Tea Fundraiser for the Womens Medical Fund

The Tea Fundraiser for the Womens Medical Fund took place at the Tea Bar in Chestnut Hill. Beautiful quaint cafe with tasty teas to tantalize your tastebuds! It was indeed a pleasure meeting the Tea party guests and learning more about of the WMF.

90degreez Faith n Fashion Soiree

This has got to be one of the best shows I've ever been part of! 90degreez is a faith based network founded by Kimberly Savage. The 90degreez Faith and Fashion Soiree had speakers, entrepreneurs, music, food, FABULOUS designers and of course beautiful models! I loved being around folks who are very positive, educated and driven. This organization is going to do big things in the near future...look out for them: www.90degreez.com

TD Bank sponsors Special Olympics

TD Bank became a sponsor for Special Olympics and some athletes were asked to visit various branches around the city. Zaire went to the Cheltenham branch and was treated like royalty! We went on a tour in around the entire bank! The branch manager and staff were so kind. We had a great time! She even left with gifts and a tray full of cupcakes! Thank you TD Bank!

AHA's Home Runs for Hearts Event

Let me tell you, I know this is a bit odd to hear but baseball is one of my favorite sports. Here I am at Citizens Bank Park volunteering with American Heart Association's Home Runs for Hearts event. I was so excited to stand "on deck", run out on the field and actually sit in the Phillies dugout! Oh yeah, and I event got harrassed by the infamous Philly Phanatic! How awesome is that???!!!!

UCP's All Star Labor Classic Games

I am such a sports chic! I had a ball at United Cerebral Palsy's All Star Labor Classic Game. This event showcased the top high school basketball players (girls and boys) from in and around Philadelphia.