Dear Friends,

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and the Tampa Y - a leading voice in youth development and healthy living - wants families in Hillsborough and East Pasco counties to live better and help prevent childhood obesity by incorporating regular physical activity and healthy eating into their daily routine. To address this important health issue, we've been opening our doors for free every weekend this month and inviting the entire community to bring the family to participate in fun, healthy activities and programs. In addition, we continue to spread the word about 5-2-1-Almost None by encouraging five daily helpings of fruits and vegetables, two hours or less of screen time, one hour daily of physical activity, and almost no sugary sweetened drinks. Recent numbers show a small decline in childhood obesity rates (down 1 percentage point to 13.1%) among preschoolers in Florida, but there is still a long way to go. Nationally, one in eight preschoolers is obese, putting them at risk for many chronic diseases such as high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Research tells us overweight and obese youth are much more likely to become overweight or obese adults. Here are some expert tips to help families live healthier together:

• Eat Healthy: Make water the drink of choice and make it easy for everyone to fill half their plates with fruits and veggies by offering two or three colorful options.
• Play Every Day: Kids should have at least an hour a day of play outside (when possible).
• Get Together: Eat as a family as often as possible with kids involved in meal preparation and clean up.
• Reduce Screen Time: Time spent in front of a TV, computer, tablet, cell phone or video games should be limited to two hours per day.
• Sleep Well: Kids and adults need to keep a regular sleep schedule--10-12 hours per night for kids and seven to eight hours for adults.

Let's work together to set a positive example for our kids when it comes to healthy living.

On a separate note, help me welcome Jan Berry as the new Vice President & Chief Development Officer of the Tampa Y. Jan comes to us from Habitat for Humanity International in Atlanta but also has a Y background, raising dollars for the YMCA of Middle Tennessee. She's embracing her new position and is a valuable addition to our senior leadership team as we work to identify and cultivate long-term relationships in support of our cause: strengthening the foundations of community.

See you at the Y!

Tom Looby
President / CEO
Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA
813-224-9622

Y Summer Learning Loss Prevention students earned medals after learning and living the 5-2-1-Almost None formula.

If you haven't heard of 5-2-1-Almost None, then you're sure to hear it now during National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. The Tampa Y is serious about implementing Nemours Health & Prevention Service's 5-2-1-Almost None formula which stands for:

• Five or more fruits and vegetables each day.
• Two hours or less of inactive screen time each day.
• One hour of physical activity each day.
• Almost none of items such as soft drinks, sports drinks, and fruit drinks that are not 100% fruit juice.

Y member Marcia Garvin completed five full marathons in five days in five different states.

To say Marcia Garvin likes to run is an understatement. For her, it's a way of life and she says the Y has been instrumental along the entire journey. This past spring, Marcia completed five full marathons in five days in five different states. "We started in Texas and then went to Oklahoma then Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. They were all done on consecutive days," shares Marcia.

Marcia's love for running started with a few 5Ks. Then she joined the Y, where she trained with run groups at the Bob Sierra Family YMCA and Northwest Hillsborough Family YMCA. She says the run group leaders "just really helped me to develop my passion for running and increase my level of fitness. Certainly without those friendships that I made and meeting those people who helped me attain those goals, none of this would've been possible at all."

The all-girls mentoring group at the Central City Y.

It's all about female empowerment for a new Y Teen Achievers group. Over the summer, the Teen Achievers program at the Bob Gilbertson Central City Family YMCA started an all-girls mentoring group. "The goal is to inspire the young ladies and also prepare them to take the SAT thus getting them ready for college," says Wayne Johnson, Teen Achievers program director.

Did you know former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez used to work for the Y? It's true and it's exactly why he feels honored to provide support to the Tampa Y in his current roles as the Chairs of JPMorgan Chase Foundation and JPMorgan Chase & Co.-Southeast and Latin America.

It's been quite the rewarding summer for the aquatics staff at the New Tampa Family YMCA. For the sixth year, their lifeguards and swim instructors have taught 9- through 11-year-olds from Shriners Hospital for Children how to swim at Camp Care-A-Lot at the Rotary Camp in Brandon.

Did you know the Tampa YMCA has expanded its successful Teen Achievers program to Southern Hillsborough County? With a new family facility in the works for the South Shore area, the Y is already impacting many lives in that community, offering a variety of healthy living and youth development programs. The Tampa Bay Times recently highlighted the pilot Teen Achievers program at Eisenhower Middle School in Gibsonton. Click here to read how the Y is reaching outside our walls to help pre-teens succeed in school and in life, thanks to a generous grant from the Interfaith Council of Sun City Center.