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Los Angeles: Florence & Western Weekend Warriors

July 30, 2010 in Helping Children, Los Angeles, North America, Rebuilding Communities, Whole Health by Jonathan White | Comments closed

July 27, 2010

By Sarah Stern

This past weekend our little “warriors” took their workout up a notch with instructor Roz Baker. Every month Roz comes in and gives the kids at the Florence & Western Medical Clinic a full hour of heart pumping exercise while incorporating healthy living tips. The kids were literally “bouncing off the walls” with the introduction of exercise balls to help develop their large motor skills, hand-eye coordination along with the ability to work with one another.

We cooled down after Roz’s session with an arts & crafts lesson where the children explored a variety of mixed media materials and created paper plate fans for themselves. The temperature in Los Angeles was in the hundreds, so our project seemed quite appropriate! Volunteers Carly Krause and Aleksander Stanisic provided guidance through the project (which got a little messy) and our finished projects had the kids feeling pretty “cool” about themselves-

We are looking forward to our yoga session on August 7^th, so please stay posted for more on the magic of working with the children of South Los Angeles, and what Real Medicine is doing to make a difference!

Tags: children, exercise, Florence Western Medical Center, Los Angeles, volunteering

Los Angeles Outreach: Turning Lemons into Lemonade

July 16, 2010 in Helping Children, Initiatives, Los Angeles, North America, Rebuilding Communities, Whole Health by Sarah Stern | Comments closed

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

July 16, 2010

By Sarah Stern

Real Medicine Foundation continues to provide physical and emotional support to children and adults within the greater Los Angeles area. With our children’s programs, this past month we focused on how to approach situations which can cause a great deal of stress within our everyday lives. Most of the children who participate in our programs are being raised by family members other than their parents, and are at high risk for future physical and psychological problems.

Our workshop “Turning lemons into lemonade” gave the children the opportunity to discuss different situations which can cause stress, and then invited them to explore and create their own problem solving techniques. The majority of children we work with are faced with extremely difficult situations due to demographics based on socioeconomic status. Their neighborhoods are unsafe, schools are overcrowded and there is little or no access to enrichment programs which would help relieve the stressors created in these environments.

We have noticed an increase in the number of children with a high BMI index, due primarily to lack of nutritional education coupled with the inaccessibility of fresh produce and whole grain foods. Real Medicine Foundation offers Adult & Child Health & Fitness education workshops along with a food donation program 5 days a week which provides organic produce and food donated from Whole Foods Markets, Venice, California, in an effort to assist in meeting the needs of this community.

Tags: Adult Fitness, Child Fitness, children, community outreach, Florence Western Medical Center, Los Angeles, Whole Foods

Athletes for Real Medicine: LA Marathon Registration Opens Today, Thursday, July 15th

July 15, 2010 in Donate, Events, General, Los Angeles, North America by Jonathan White | Comments closed

Just a reminder that registration for the 2011 Honda LA Marathon opens today, Thursday, July 15th at 8:00am. Last year’s event sold out, so be sure to register early and secure your spot on the starting line at Dodger Stadium.

This year’s race will once again feature the Stadium to the Sea route that was a hit with participants. Check the Marathon website for details about the event and we’ll keep you posted with new developments we’re working on for next year’s race.

Click on the “About Athletes for RMF” link below to find out more about our participation in the Marathon or the “Join the Team” link to create your own fundraising page.

About Athletes for RMF

Join The Team

As a friends of Real Medicine, we would like to invite you to join us in our quest to get healthy and raise donations at the same time, in the name of people around the world in need.

Tags: athletes, fundraising, LA Marathon, Los Angeles, philanthropy, running, volunteering

Breaking the Barriers of Sound at Florence and Western Medical Center

July 10, 2010 in Donate, Initiatives, Los Angeles, North America, Rebuilding Communities, Whole Health by Sarah Stern | Comments closed

by Sarah Stern

Once a month, Real Medicine Foundation in collaboration with Health Net provides adult workshops educating the community of South Los Angeles on the benefits of living a “healthy lifestyle”. Health Net’s Andy Padilla and I engage the participants in low-impact exercises, many performed while sitting and utilizing resistance bands to increase their effectiveness. Discussions include the risks of smoking, alcohol and drug abuse along with healthy eating habits to lower cholesterol levels, risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Our most recent workshop brought about a surprise for us. About 10 minutes into the workshop, it became apparent that this month’s attendees were severely hearing impaired. The laughter and playfulness of the group warmed our hearts and we quickly adapted our workshop to try and accommodate their special needs. Though my sign language is limited to the alphabet that I learned from my brother’s Boy Scout handbook 35 years ago, I was able to spell out the words necessary for everyone to feel a part of the workshop. The look on the women’s faces when they realized I was able to communicate with them in their own language, is one I will never forget-and the room lit up with smiles as we broke the barriers of sound.

When the workshop ended, the room filled with hugs and Andy and I found ourselves discussing our experience for quite some time once the room had emptied. We never know what we will find when we enter the doors at Florence & Western, but this particular Thursday morning was one for the records-

The Real Medicine Foundation clinic located at the Florence Western Medical Center is focused on increasing health care access and health education to the South Los Angeles community.

The clinic takes all government and most commercial insurance and provides care at very reasonable cash prices and ensures no one is turned away. The clinic offers services in Primary Care, Gastroenterology and Podiatry. The clinic also has on-site pharmacy, lab and radiology services. In the near future, the clinic has plans to be open for dental care, after-hours visits and urgent care.

Read more about our initiative at Florence and Western at our website:http://www.realmedicinefoundation.org/initiative/outreach-programs-at-florence-western-medical-center

Tags: Adult workshops, Florence Western Medical Center, healthy lifestyle, Heart disease, Los Angeles, philanthropy, Sarah Stern, sign language