Creating a Promise with Our Boys & Girls Club Youth
In November, five members of our Alliance for a Healthier Asbury Park Boundary Spanning Leadership team attended a meeting at the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County in Asbury Park. Our leadership team attended this meeting to show our support and partnership with the youth participating in the Keystone Community Leaders Club – part of NJHI’s Next Generation Community Leaders initiative.
It was great to meet these youth who are enthusiastic about helping to build a healthier Asbury Park. Some of the ice breakers that we participated in showed the youth that we have been where they are; it also showed them that just because we are adults doesn’t mean that we don’t hear them. We are listening, and we wanted to show them our coalition will support, guide & assist them any way we can.
The course of that meeting helped all of the adults and the youth see that we have had a similar upbringing in our community, including that many of us didn’t learn about healthy eating when we were young. Our parents usually made dinner, but as times changed, children became just as busy as their parents. Families today often have parents who are working later hours while the youth are more involved in afterschool activities and programs. This combination usually leads to youth stopping on the way home to get a bite to eat that may be quick, but not necessarily healthy.
Just watching how engaged the youth were to learn about our coalition’s partners, work and priorities excited me. Their director and coaches were very energetic and had the kids wanting more. I congratulate these community partners on a great job!
I am truly looking forward to their next meeting and having the youth attend our leadership team’s and broader coalition’s future meetings.
Become a partner in building a healthier Asbury Park by connecting with us. Learn more about the Next Generation Community Leaders initiative here.
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