LIFT News

FREE MARKET TOURS!!!! Shopping Healthy on a Budget

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:14:00 GMT

FREE MARKET TOURS!!!! BI-LINGUAL GUIDED TOURS OF THE FARMER’S MARKET & MI PUEBLO FOOD CENTER

Sunday, May 20th 9am- 2pm

COME JOIN US FOR:
“Shopping Healthy on a Budget”
Round-trip guided educational tours of Mi Pueblo Food Center and the Farmer’s Market.
Learn with an experienced guide how to buy the best produce at affordable prices,
take advantage of special offers, free food & learn how to double your money with an EBT card.

Buses leave starting at 9AM.

HEALTH & WELLNESS COMMUNITY PICNIC
FREE Food demos, FREE cookbooks & FREE food to take home!
Includes fun physical activities for the whole family.

Meeting Place
9 AM at the Health & Wellness Campus Courtyard - 3240 Kerner Blvd, San Rafael

Market Tour Directions
RSVP - Oscar Guardado, 415-684-6457

LIFT - Levántate and the Rotary Club, in partnership with Mi Pueblo Foods Center,
Civic Center Farmer’s Market and the Marin County Community Advisory Board

FREE FOR THE Whole Family Transportation Included!

¡¡¡¡Giras por el Mercado gratis!!!!
GIRAS EDUCATIVAS BILINGÜES
POR EL MERCADO DE GRANJEROS
Y EN LA TIENDA MI PUEBLO.

Domingo 20 de Mayo 9am- 2pm

VENGA CON NOSOTROS PARA:
“Aprender a comer saludable con poco dinero”
Giras educativas en Mi Pueblo y en el Mercado de Granjeros (Civic Center). Aprenda de un experto
guía a comprar los mejores productos a precios económicos, aproveche ofertas especiales, comida
gratis y aprenda como doblar su dinero con la tarjeta EBT (estampillas de comida).

Autobuses comienzan a salir a las 9AM.

PICNIC DE LA COMUNIDAD EN EL CENTRO DE SALUD Y BIENESTAR
¡Demostracion de comida GRATIS, libros de cocina GRATIS y comida GRATIS para llevar a casa!
Incluye diversión y actividad física para toda la familia.

Punto de encuentro
9 AM en el patio interior del Centro de Salud y Bienestar (Health & Wellness Campus)
3240 Kerner Blvd, San Rafael

Direcciones para el tour de Granjeros
Regístrese con Oscar Guardado, 415-684-6457

LIFT - Levántate y el club rotario en colaboración con Mi Pueblo,
Civic Center Farmer’s Market y el Marin County Community Advisory Board

GRATIS para toda la Familia.

¡Transportación Incluída!

EVENT - WELLNESS STYLING FOR YOUR LIFE Thursday, April 26th • 6pm to 9pm

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:21:00 GMT

SAVE THE DATE!
Thursday, April 26th • 6pm to 9pm

Liquid Marin and YogaWorks present

WELLNESS STYLING FOR YOUR LIFE

Please join us for an evening dedicated to wellness and community at Liquid Marin, 709 5th Ave, San Rafael.

The evening benefits LIFT-Levántate; a non-profitorganization established to promote youth and family wellness in low-income communities. Learn how we as a community can get involved in empowering children and their families to create a life of health, wellness and positive self-esteem.www.liftlevantate.org

Exciting demonstrations, speakers, and 10% off yourpurchase that night!

$10 advance tickets can be purchased atliquidmarin.com or in the store.

Raffles for AMAZING prizes.

Complimentary healthy snacks and drinks.

For more information on all the presenters, booths,demonstration times and for advance tickets, please go to www.liquidmarin.com or call 415.258.9320

Marin Oaks Continues Garden Tradition at Hill Site

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:54:00 GMT

Here is a great post by Karen Pavone regarding Marin Oaks High School garden at the Hill Learning Campus. LIFT-Levantate provides the support and funds for all the garden staff, supplies and expenses as well as doing the student outreach for this program.

Originally posted on Novato Patch by Karen Pavone

on April 10, 2012 at 11:00 am

The contentious closing of Hill Middle School last fall left many Novato families feeling a profound loss. Change is always challenging. The closure tested our resilience and ability to move forward as a community.

Yet change can also be a catalyst for growth. We may kick and scream in the face of it, but ultimately we must learn to adapt and find elements of good that spring from the ashes.

Such is the consolation I found recently when I visited the school garden project on this campus. As of last summer, Hill Middle School became the new home of the Marin Oaks Continuation High School and NOVA programs. Despite this change, it is comforting on some level to find that the garden remains — a steadfast reminder of the cycle of life and renewal that a new season brings.

The garden was not always as it is now. Were it not for the passionate spirit of Hill science teacher extraordinaire Nicole Calmels it might not exist at all. A Novato native and former Hill student herself, Calmels was the catalyst behind resurrecting the neglected garden space. She began by putting out an APB for parent volunteers, which was answered by master gardener Annie Spiegelman.

The two combined their considerable energy, enlisting other parents to assist with the resurrection. John Buckley, a Hill dad with a construction business, donated lumber for plant beds. Other volunteers cleared vegetation, installed drip irrigation, donated plants and trees, and put in countless hours of time tending the space. The result: a flourishing garden enjoyed by students, faculty, and parents alike.

Then Hill Middle School closed.

The closure could have signaled the end of the garden project. But instead, something wonderful happened. Along with the move of Marin Oaks and NOVA to the Hill campus came a new crop of students to tend the garden, and new sources of funding to keep it going.

Enter Richard Waxman, executive director of the LIFT For Teens program, a nonprofit focused on engaging low-income and at-risk kids in healthy activities. Waxman established the Healthy Campus Leadership Council at Marin Oaks which promotes good nutrition, physical activity, and making positive life choices.

The garden was the perfect teaching tool for the program, and has been the cornerstone of its success on this campus. Every Tuesday morning before school a handful of dedicated students meet for an hour of Garden Club before their academic day begins.

I arrive recently on a cold, overcast Tuesday morning to meet with Anita Jones, a master gardener volunteer who, along with long-time garden advocate Annie Spiegelman (aka the "Dirt Diva"), supervises the Marin Oaks garden club program.

Coincidentally, it's the first day of spring.

I make my way to the rear of the campus, discovering the fenced garden lot adjacent to the field. The gate is open, welcoming me to the space. Inside I find Anita at a rustic wood work table, busily preparing the morning activity.

Today the students are planting seeds in some of the raised beds on the plot: mixed wildflowers, star jasmine, calendula, cosmos, organic Bronze Mignonette lettuce, and blue-curled kale.

"We love these kids!" Jones tells me. "The fact that they come consistently before school to be a part of this garden speaks volumes. For many of them, this place provides positive reinforcement they don't get in other areas of their lives." Anita notes that garden club affords students one-on-one time with an adult when they're not in trouble. "It's a safe place where we meet them as they are."

She is the garden club's mother hen, supplying additional motivation to students in the form of warm homemade banana chocolate-chip muffins to fuel their morning activities. Today, however, there is a "muffin strike" in effect — the result of garden tools carelessly left outside.

As we await the students arrival, I take in the garden: a large, arched metal arbor provides support for entwined potato vine cover; two apple trees and one olive; a box of perennial strawberries making a comeback; big bushes of flowering fava beans overtaking one bed, while others lie barren awaiting the vegetables that will be planted here.

Soon we are joined by two students, the only garden club members willing to brave the elements on this morning as rain continues to threaten.

Lauren Parsons, a senior who aspires to attend UC Davis and study veterinary medicine, is a regular at garden club. She tells me working in the garden helps her wake up in the morning. A talented artist, Parsons finds inspiration in this space and shares a mural sketch she hopes to paint for the garden.

Huy Nguyen, a sophomore, saunters in a few minutes later. He is understandably bummed about the muffin strike but takes the news in stride with affable joking. He grabs a seed packet and joins Lauren who is already in the process of making trenches in the dirt beds. Together they begin sowing seeds.

As the students engage in their activity, teacher-advisor Craig Kodros arrives. An avid gardener himself, Kodros believes the simple act of working in the garden provides students with a much needed respite from daily demands. "Kids these days are mostly plugged-in," he observes. "They spend a lot of time inside on computers or gaming."

He thinks gardening affords students the chance to have an authentic experience with nature. He also knows introducing them to gardening as teens will likely lead to a life-long love of gardening as adults.

Spiegelman, avid school garden advocate and local author of "Talking Dirt," echoes this sentiment. "Garden Club makes a difference for these kids," she tells me with infectious enthusiasm. "The garden responds when you give to it, and it gives back. Students start their day grounded here. They connect with the earth and develop a basis for making healthy food choices."

At the end of the hour, students and advisors gather together for a moment of meditation. They sit in a circle of chairs in a corner of the garden, eyes closed, to observe one full minute of silence ... a rare moment carved out in an otherwise non-stop day.

I join them in the stillness, suddenly aware of all the sounds I am normally too busy to notice: birds chirping, a dog barking, a distant train whistle, a worker nearby hammering on a rooftop. We breathe deeply and listen, all lost in a shared moment of solitude.

Then slowly eyes open. Kids rise and go to class. The school day officially begins. The garden will be there for them next Tuesday — a haven, a sanctuary, a place of certainty in an uncertain world.

*The Marin Oaks Garden Project wishes to recognize and thank the following businesses for their donation of resources: Waste Management Earth Care, www.wmearthcare.com; Point Reyes Compost Company; Baker Creek Seeds in Petaluma, Marin Native Plant Society, Marin Master Gardeners, Tree Pros in Mill Valley, and The Gainer-Jones Foundation, www.gaines-jones.org.

Current garden wish list: new wheelbarrow, new wheels for wheelbarrows, pruners. If you would like to donate items to the Marin Oaks Garden project, contact Annie Spiegelman atwww.dirtdiva.com.

LIFT Kicks Off the Healthy Campus Leadership Council at Marin Oaks

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:50:00 GMT

Richard Waxman, Executive Director for LIFT For Teens - Levántate, kicked off the Healthy Campus Leadership Council at Marin Oaks Continuation High School in Novato Friday. Inspired by LIFT's successful garden and physical activity programs,twelve students, along with Advisor Jeff Packman, discussed what it takes to be a leader, how to advocate for change, how to build consensus and most importantly, that we can't be spectators to our own lives. The Council meets Fridays and will be addressing issues, concerns and opportunities that impact the physical, social, psychological and emotional health of the students, faculty and staff.

CALL FOR NOMINEES BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2012

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:02:00 GMT

CALL FOR NOMINEES BOARD OF DIRECTORS

LIFT/Levantate issues this Call for Nominees to further develop our Board of Directors and to fulfill

our commitment to an inclusive and diverse community of leaders.

DOWNLOAD THE NOMINATION FORM HERE

“The children we serve often have trauma and chaos as a component in their young lives. Seeing

them blossom under the LIFT program has been nothing short of a miracle. I have witnessed a

child who felt helpless and hopeless before starting LIFT suddenly gain self esteem and confidence

upon entering the program while experiencing joy in the process.” Cyndy Doherty, Executive

Director, Marin Advocates for Children, September 2011

San Fernando Latino Wellness Workshop

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:22:00 GMT

San Fernando Latino Wellness Workshop

What: Free, Fun, Nutrition and Fitness Workshop!!

When: Saturday, January 28th 2011 10:30am -‐ 12:00pm

Where: Las Palmas Recreation Center

505 S. Huntington St., San Fernando, CA

Who: All are welcome! Parents, Teens, Children, Seniors, Families

Healthy Recipes/ Cooking

Free Healthy Snacks

Nutrition Tips & Activities

Fun, Fitness Activities for Everyone

Bilingual

www.Lift-°©‐levantate.org

www.facebook.com/LiftLevantate

Please RSVP to: Melissa Mendoza

(323)979‐8655

melissamendoza@liftforteens.org

Richard Waxman Recently Nominated for "Excellence in Non-Profit Leadership"

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:58:00 GMT

LIFT's Executive Director, Richard Waxman, was recently nominated for "Excellence in Non-Profit Leadership" at the recent 19th Annual Heart of Marin Awards Ceremony hosted by the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit leadership of Marin

DIMES FOR DONATIONS - Whole Foods Shares Proceeds with LIFT

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:32:00 GMT

DIMES FOR DONATIONS

Jan. 16- Apr. 8 Recipients

We appreciate your efforts in bringing your reusable bags, so we have decided to increase our Nickel for Non-Profits to Dimes for Donations this quarter. If you decide to donate your dime, it will be split three ways between the organization listed below.

Meals of Marin- Their mission is to prepare and deliver home cooked meals to people in Marin with life threatening illness 365 days a year at no cost.
LIFT for Teens- They provide nutrition education, gardening, physical activity and life skills mentoring to low income children anda families in undeserved communities.
Teens Turning Green- They are a student led movement devoted to education and advocacy around environmentally and socially responsible choices for individuals, schools, and communities.

Richard Waxman Takes on Role as Marin County Representative of the BANPAC Leadership Council

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 03:44:00 GMT

Richard Waxman, Executive Director for LIFT-Levántate, is representing Marin County on the Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC) Leadership Council. BANPAC uses the collective expertise and influence of its member organizations to facilitate system and environmental change that shape nutrition and physical activity behaviors. BANPAC works through nutrition education initiatives to address health inequities in the Bay Area and to improve nutrition, physical-activity behaviors, and increased access to healthy foods. A key strategy is the adoption of organizational healthy beverage practices and policies through the Pledge the Practice! Pass the Policy!! Initiative.

Thank You to YogaWorks!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:54:00 GMT

A big thank you to YogaWorks for their generous donation of yoga mats to our afterschool programs and for their support at the World Diabetes Day event.

Marin Civic Center Lit Blue for World Diabetes Day

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:54:00 GMT

Diabetes Day Bay Area 2011 Was a Success!!!

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:14:00 GMT

AS POSTED ON DIABETES HANDS FOUNDATION WEBSITE ON 11/16/2011

We did it! Over 8000 Big Blue Test results! Thanks!

Posted on November 16, 2011 by manny

Big Blue Test

After a generous extension until midnight, Nov. 15, Accu-Chek (the program sponsor) granted us taking into consideration the outage we experienced during World Diabetes Day… we passed the goal of 8,000 Big Blue Test entries!!

The diabetes online community participated in full force, turning in a little over 4,000 entries. Type 3′s (our friends and loved ones) helped us reach the goal with their participation!

As a result of the goal we just passed, in the coming days we will be granting the following amounts:
* US$25,000 to International Diabetes Federation’s Life For a Child program.
* US$10,000 to Moundville Medical Clinic, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
* US$10,000 to LIFT For Teens/Walk and Play For Wellness in San Rafael, CA
* US$10,000 to University of Colorado Denver
* US$10,000 to St. Anthony Medical Clinic, St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco, CA
* US$10,000 to Pecos Valley Medical Center, Inc. Pecos NM

We will also share the anonymized results submitted by people with diabetes with two research groups, to help us analyze them and learn more from The Big Blue Test and, hopefully, touch even MORE lives in 2012 with it!

Thank you to each and every one of you who participated in The Big Blue Test! In particular, thanks to:
* Rob Muller and Todd Siesky: champions of the project at Roche, the program sponsor.
* Sean Ross and Jeffrey Lee: Director and Production Coordinator for the Big Blue Test video.
* Each of the people who lent their time and patiently worked with Sean and Jeffrey in the video. * Capital Cities: who let us use their amazing track “Safe and Sound” for the video.
* Matthew Dimmett: who designed and implemented the new Big Blue Test web site.
* Andreina Davila: whose creative direction made the project a success once more.
* Emily Walton and Emily Coles: for supporting the project along the way.
* David Edelman and Riva Greenberg: who offered key advice throughout the project.
* Michele Huie: Communications guru extraordinaire, who helped us with all the PR!
* Fatima Shahzad: who worked her social media magic in support of the Big Blue Test.
* Rachel Konte: for designing the gorgeous Big Blue Test t-shirts.
* Mariana Gomez: for support with Spanish translations.
* Fabiana Couto: for support with Portuguese translations.
* Each of the charitable groups: who offered their help in getting the word out about the Big Blue Test. In particular, Heather Whitley, from the Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy; Isabella Platon at International Diabetes Federation; Richard Waxman and Genevieve Foster, from LIFT – Levántate for Teens; and Wesley Nuffer and Dana A. Brandorff, at University of Colorado, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
* The DOC, all our friends and partners: who helped get the word out about the campaign over and over.

To remind you what your participation in The Big Blue Test made possible, watch this video that showcases one of the groups getting a Big Blue Test grant…

Kindergarten Bootcamp - SummerBridge Program with First Five

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:39:00 GMT

Our SummerBridge program with First Five provides physical activities like Zumba and yoga in the shapes of fruits and vegetables along with a bi-lingual nutritional puppet show with Chef Le Cilantro for low income children around the county entering kindergarten without the benefit of having attended pre-school.

Read an article about this program in Bay Citizen.

LIFTlevantate Receives a Proclamation from the Marin County Board of Supervisors

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:07:00 GMT

LIFTlevantate recently received a proclamation from the Marin County Board of Supervisors in recognition of our co-hosting the first Bay Area-wide celebration of World Diabetes Day here in Marin County.

Memo Of Understanding completed between LIFT and the Marin City Community Services District

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 14:58:00 GMT

We are very excited to have completed a Memo of Understanding (MOU) with the Marin City Community Services District (MCCSD) for mutual development and implementation of community wellness programs for youth and families, joint fundraising activities and general operational support for MCCSD Recreation programs.

We have been building a strong partnership with various organizations and community members in Marin City and see this agreement as a testament to our collaborative approach and commitment to service.

A special Thank You to John Logan, General Manager of the Marin City Community Services District, for his guidance and continued partnership and to the LIFT Staff, led by Margaret Hershey, for their delivery of high quality programming week in and week out with the children and families of Marin City.