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Lets Move! F.A.M,E. Joins with First Lady Michelle Obama to Fight Childhood Obesity

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Category: Community News

Published on Saturday, 08 May 2010 16:43

Written by Shoshana McCallum

On Wednesday, April 28^th hundreds of participants including students, teachers and local leaders joined baseball legend Dave Winfield to kick-off Let’s Move L.A. at the FAME Renaissance Center in South Los Angeles.

Let’s Move! is a nationwide health initiative created by First Lady Michelle Obama to fight childhood obesity and raise healthier children across America. Let’s Move L.A. is the Los Angeles supportive arm of that campaign being led by FAME Corporations and FAME Church of Los Angeles

“I want to thank all of you who came out to this important event and for making it such a wonderful success,” said Mrs. Denise Hunter, President and Chief Operating Officer of FAME Corporations, as she addressed the crowd. “We couldn’t have done this without all of you,” she added.

In the photo:  Amir Johnson, Field Representative for Assemblymember Steve Bradford (D-51st District),  Mrs. Denise Hunter, President and CEO of FAME Corp.,L.A.  Wendy Gruel, City Controller   Dave Winfield Baseball legend and event emcee ,  Cazzie Burns, District Representative for Senator Rod Wright (D-25st District),

As Mr. Winfield, event emcee, took the stage he energized the crowd by saying, "Being a lifelong athlete, I can tell you from personal experience that true strength, power, energy, longevity, general health and looking good comes from eating your fresh vegetables and fruits.  I urge you to eat right, and when you do, your body will do right by you.”

Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel and Antronette K. Yancey, MD, MPH, a professor in the Department of Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health and Co-Director of the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity also addressed the crowd as did a number of representatives from various elected officials’ offices. For more than 3 hours healthy meals were served while participants entertained themselves in a multitude of fun filled activities centered on health and nutrition.

“All community leaders must be more responsible and be a part of the solution to this epidemic,” said Pastor John J. Hunter, Senior Minister of FAME Church. “Leaders in this struggle are not only legislators and public figures, they are also advertisers, teachers and parents. We must do as the Lord instructs: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Escorted by their teachers and Mrs. Hunter, over 60 students from Frederick Douglass Academy High School walked a half mile in unison to the event venue and kicked off the celebrations with an energetic dance routine performed to the Let’s Move L.A. theme song “I like to move it, move it.” The children’s choir from Holy Name of Jesus School entertained with inspirational songs, and dancers from the Central Los Angeles High School of Visual and Performing Arts reprised an original dance routine featured on ABC’s “Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.” Other features of the kick-off included specialty foods served by Kogi Korean BBQ and The Green Truck; cooking demonstrations and recipes showcasing fresh fruits and vegetables by chefs from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and Homegirl Café; a fresh produce market by So Fresh markets; exercise and dance instruction; and one-on-one consultations with nutritionists and personal trainers.

The launch party concluded with attendees affirming their commitment to doing their part to support the First Lady’s bold initiative to end childhood obesity in one generation. To join Let’s Move L.A. or to view exclusive video footage of the launch party, visit www.letsmovela.org.

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