Healthy Kids, Healthy Choices: A visit with Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Kim Perry and Carson Miller
Thursday, August 14th, 2008The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. We have come together to fight one of our nation’s leading health threats – childhood obesity. Along with our co-leader Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and American Heart Association President Dan Jones, the Alliance is working nationally to create awareness and real solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic.
Misson:To eliminate childhood obesity and to inspire all young people in the United States to develop lifelong, healthy habits.
GoalsThe goal of the Alliance is to stop the nationwide increase in childhood obesity by 2010 and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices.
healthiergeneration.org
Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Kids’ Movement Director Kim Perry. Kimberly has worked for more than fifteen years successfully mobilizing communities to create a collaborative environment in which educators, legislators and policy makers can be educated and held accountable for improving the quality of life for low-income children and their families. She is nationally respected in the advocacy community for her steadfast work in child health public policy – including access to quality health care; and food and nutrition policies that address the paradoxical issues of childhood hunger and childhood obesity.
Before coming to the Alliance, Kimberly was the founding director of D.C. Hunger Solutions, a non-profit anti-hunger advocacy organization based at the Food Research and Action Center. Under her leadership, D.C. Hunger Solutions led three historic policy wins for children and youth: replaced junk food with healthier choices in public school vending machines, made school breakfast free to all public school students daily; and gave poor kids, who relied on free lunch during the school year, access to nutritious meals in their neighborhood, during the summer time. These victories were the platform for Kimberly’s leadership of another innovative social justice venture that organized over 150 citizens representing 14 sectors of the city to implement a Ten Year Plan to End Childhood Hunger in the Nation’s Capital. Now, more than half of all children living in poverty, in Washington, D.C., have access to three nutritious meals each day. The plan is nationally recognized and is currently being replicated in a number of states across the country.
The Kids’ Movement will be rolling out programs and activities to ENGAGE, EDUCATE and ACTIVATE youth across the country to be empowered and take the Go Healthy Challenge.
Carson Miller
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Since 2005 the Alliance has been working to create an on-air, online, and grassroots movement to reach millions of kids with “cool” messages about healthy living. Kids across the country have heard our message and to date over one million have taken the Go Healthy Pledge to dedicate themselves to a healthier lifestyle and to help their families, friends and communities make healthy changes.
Carson Miller is an active 12-year-old from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She loves to cook, particularly healthy foods to take to school for lunch. She enjoys going to farmers’ markets and meeting farmers. Carson plays competitive soccer and a variety of other sports. She has been recognized by Farm to Table for her efforts in promoting school nutrition. Later in life she hopes to combine her interest in business and cooking by going to Stanford and the Culinary Institute of America. Among other skills, Carson brings multimedia and advocacy skills to the Youth Advisory Board.
When asked what the biggest obstacle youth face when trying to live a healthier life, Carson replied:
“Junk food, snacks, and soda are advertised everywhere—from television commercials to computer pop-ups and movie theatres—with scrumptiously tempting pictures. Processed foods take up aisles and aisles at grocery stores and are always being promoted with coupons and sales.”
Alliance for a Healthier Generation
Healthy Kids, Healthy Choices: A visit with Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Kim Perry and Carson Miller [19:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download







