Grow 2 B Fit Foundation

 As a pediatrician, my goal is to improve the health and lives ofchildren. Over the past several years, I have seen the impact that childhood obesity has had on so many of my patients. It impacts their ability to keep up with their friends, their self-esteem and their risk of developing diseases that will not only affect their health as adults, but in some cases, have already started to affect their health as children.

Along with the help of a large number of dedicated volunteers, the Grow 2B Fit Foundation has been working to bring a message of better living through nutrition and exercise to children and their families. We work to educate children and their parents on how to make healthy eating a fun and affordable part of their lives. We teach them easy ways to incorporate exercise and activity into their daily lives.

For over 3 years, our organization has sponsored Kidz Kamp, a free monthly class involving nutrition and health education for ages 5 and up, as well as exercise activities that include the entire family. Meetings are free for families and small incentives such as basic sporting goods or school supplies are awarded to participants that complete food and activity logs and attend Kidz Kamp.

The Grow 2B Fit Foundation established a childhood obesity coalition, unifying the resources in our community in order to have a greater impact on the health of families in Tucson and decrease the incidence of obesity. The coalition provides education on healthy lifestyles at community events throughout Tucson and Pima County.

We have seen an improvement in the BMI of children who participate in Grow 2B Fit Kidz Kamps. After a recent pilot program that included cooking classes for children, many have started to eat foods they wouldn't even try in the past.  Several of our participants who used to hate "exercising" now enjoy "playing and being active". It has been truly rewarding to see children learn that being healthy and active can be fun and enjoyable.  Please check out our website, www.grow2bfit.org for more information.

We appreciate all of the support that we have received from the Tucson community and hope that you will support the Grow 2B Fit Foundation on Arizona Gives Day! 

Thank you,

Jessica Schultz, M.D.