Health Initiative | University of Chicago Collegiate Scholars | January 14, 2012 – March 10, 2012

Chicago, IL – The Aparecio Foundation and the University of Chicago’s Collegiate Scholars Scholars launch innovate Health Initiative.

The Challenge

A person faces different health concerns at different stages of life. For young women, the immediate health concerns are accidents, injuries and unwanted pregnancy. Throughout the entire life spectrum women face the challenge of obesity and is related complications, including arthritis, heart disease and diabetes. We will provide participants with knowledge directly related to these public health challenges, and we will teach them how to make life long changes in their health practice.

The implementation of education and or other strategies aimed at helping young-adults entering college to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight are beneficial, especially in the African American and Hispanic communities, to reduce the number overweight and or obese children. The Aparecio Foundation Health Initiative was implemented to help scholars enrolled in our program make healthy decisions for themselves and their families.

The Solution

The Health Initiative was designed to develop health literacy and provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote healthy lifestyle choices. The program will teach nutrition, provide daily opportunities for quality physical education for our scholars and create an environment that consistently supports healthy eating and physical activity.

Course topics include yoga and meditation, community health, healthy eating and healthy exercise (health track). This 8 week course consists of 16 lessons, with 2-3 lessons introduced per week. Twenty of the participants will be young-women from the University of Chicago’s Collegiate Scholars Program during the Fall of 2011. Scholars will be expected to read the required course material, attend regularly scheduled class meetings, engage in group discussions and complete weekly group assignments.

About The University of Chicago Collegiate Scholar’s Program: The University of Chicago Collegiate Scholar’s Program (UCCSP) was founded in 2003 as a three-year program that aims to prepare talented Chicago Public Schools students in grades 10-12 for admission and success at the nation’s top colleges and universities. UCCSP is shaped around a core curriculum of humanities, social science, math, and science courses during the summer months and enrichment activities geared toward college readiness, cultural awareness, and civic engagement during the academic year.