Outdoor Afros Swim in Open Water for a Good Cause
That's right! In an historic event this weekend, the East Oakland Swim Club in partnership with Water World Swim Organization Swim and the Centurions of San Francisco, hosted 100 Black Folk and Friends Alcatraz to San Francisco Swim. Folks from around the Oakland Bay Area came together to swim in the surrounding open waters for this good cause: to encourage more black and brown folks to learn to swim, and demonstrate that many already do!
Unfortunately, 70 percent of black children do not know how to swim, and the consequence is a disproportionate rate of drownings in our community. According to the University of Memphis study, the fatal drowning rate of African-American children ages 1-14 is 2.6 times higher than that of white children in the same age range.
Group leader Cedric Troupe shares, "[Oakland] has shutdown many of its public pools, limiting access to swimming in our communities. I hope that through this swim, we raise awareness about how important swimming is to black folk, and the importance of public pools."
Outdoor Afro Leader Zoe Polk, an expert swimmer in her own right, started out the morning with the group and some Clif Bar Mojo!
"It was a beautiful morning," she said, "I was so happy to join Cedric and friends to swim for this important cause!"
Learn more about the East Oakland Swim Club by visiting their Facebook page.
National Get Outdoors Day is Today!
New Media Effort Amplifies National Get Outdoors Day on June 8th, 2013
While more than 245 million Americans live within 100 miles of a national forest or grassland, research shows that a majority of children in some segments of the population are not spending active time outdoors. Research shows that only 37% of African American children ages 6-12 participate in outdoor recreation, compared to 67% of Caucasian children in the same age range. In an effort to motivate African American families to get outside more often and reconnect with nature, the Ad Council and the U.S. Forest Service have launched a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) in advance of the 6th annual National Get Outdoors Day on Saturday, June 8th, 2013.
“This new campaign seeks to get kids and families out to enjoy the wonders of our forests,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “The physical, mental and spiritual benefits our great outdoors provide are more important now than ever.”
Research has shown that children who play outside have lower stress levels and more active imaginations, become fitter and leaner, develop stronger immune systems and have greater respect for themselves and for others. Currently, most of the time that U.S. children today spend outdoors is spent participating in activities such as biking, walking, listening to music, or using electronic devices. Nature-based activities, such as bird watching, hiking, camping, and fishing are not as common.
“Many families are unaware of the benefits that nature provides children, including improving their physical and mental health and emotional well-being,” said Peggy Conlon, President & CEO of the Ad Council. “Through these PSAs we’re thrilled to continue our work with the US Forest Service to show families how close they are to a forest, park or grassland and encourage them to spend active time outdoors.”
“Parents will tell you that there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing their children’s eyes light up when they discover something new.” said Lewis Williams, Burrell Chief Creative Officer. “The forest is one of those amazing places where kids can flex their imagination muscles through exploration and discovery.”
These efforts will be supported through the campaign website, www.discovertheforest.org, which includes interactive games, a list of activity ideas and a convenient forest locator, powered by NatureFind and GoogleMaps, which allows users to find the closest forest or park to them, as well as corresponding Facebook www.facebook.com/discovertheforest and Twitter www.twitter.com/cheecker.