For the week of Dec. 2, the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation will work in collaboration with the American Heart Association, Fuel Up to PLAY 60, InnerCity Weightlifting and Rockwell Elementary School.How do exercise and healthy eating volunteers make an impact?American Heart Association
Volunteers are the fabric of the culture at the American Heart Association, and AHA believes volunteers’ energy and enthusiasm can fuel progress in the fight against cardiovascular diseases. Volunteers are driven by a shared passion: They want to save lives and improve health by stopping heart disease and stroke. Volunteers advocate for change, provide expert scientific guidance, educate community members, develop strategies and plans, and lead our community fundraising efforts. And they do all of this while generously donating their time, talent and effort.
Fuel Up to PLAY 60
Encourage students to make healthy changes for themselves and their classmates.- Motivates. Create excitement for Fuel Up to Play 60 to implement and sustain the program.
- Builds self-esteem.
- Inspires creativity to implement new healthy eating and wellness programs
- Helps develop positive life-long behaviors.
InnerCity Weightlifting
Given the population we work with - young people at the highest risk for violence, volunteering at InnerCity Weightlifting isn’t just about health and fitness, it’s about bridging worlds together, meeting each other half way, and bringing more awareness to a complex social issue (youth violence). By volunteering to come to our gyms our students build trust with more positive role models, at the same time our volunteers are exposed to the significant barriers our students face day in day out. It’s an experience that empowers both parties to learn and grow together.- Leveraging health and fitness provides an incredible opportunity to build a positive community. A community that our students can lean on in and outside the gym, through good times and bad. Volunteers play a key role in building a positive community for our students to belong to.
- Health and fitness provides a positive outlet to channel our energies, creates strong work ethic, and healthy habits. In the words of one of our students, “if I can keep up with my workouts, then I can maintain a job.”
Rockwell Elementary School
Students learn the value of a healthy lifestyle.- Students who exercise each morning start the day ready to learn
- Exercise becomes a priority for students at an early age.
Congratulations to this week's "Patriots Difference Maker" – JoAnn Waite JoAnn WaiteVolunteer, Rockwell Elementary School 
JoAnn Waite is an extraordinary Rockwell School volunteer. She works tirelessly to plan events and activities that focus on health and wellness for students and staff. JoAnne organizes a three day a week exercise program in which over 100 hundred students, grades k-5, participate in both indoor and outdoor physical games and exercises before the start of their school day. Joanne also is the creator of a recess cart in which materials are provided to encourage students with the help of their teacher assistants to be creative in their exercise and play at recess time. As a member of our Wellness Committee, Joanne created a staff wellness challenge last spring, brought in guest fitness instructors for all classes and coordinated presentations of healthy eating from local food industry personnel in the Rockwell Community.
What exercise and healthy eating volunteer opportunities can I pursue? American Heart Association
- Learn more about the American Heart Association and its many volunteer opportunities at: https://www.facebook.com/americanheartmassachusetts
- Jump Rope For Heart: Through Jump Rope For Heart kids learn jump rope skills, how their heart works and raise money to help kids with special hearts. Have fun, learn how to stay healthy and make a difference in the lives of others! www.heart.org/jump
- Hoops for Heart: Jump. Shoot. Save. Some kids are born with special hearts and need your help. You can make a difference! Sign up at www.heart.org/hoops
- NFL PLAY 60 Challenge: The AHA has teamed up with the NFL’s PLAY 60 campaign to create the NFL PLAY 60 Challenge to inspire middle school students to be more physically active and to help schools become places that encourage active lifestyles year-round. Get creative ideas for getting active: www.nflrush.com/play60
- Teaching Gardens: American Heart Association Teaching Gardens planted in elementary schools across the country become real-life learning laboratories for students to learn what it means to be healthy. Aimed at first graders through fifth, we teach children how to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, harvest produce and ultimately understand the value of good eating habits. www.heart.org/gardens
- Congenital Heart Defect Awareness: The American Heart Association Congenital Heart Defect Awareness volunteers work year-round to raise awareness and provide outreach to the CHD community in New England. www.ahachd.wordpress.com
Fuel Up to PLAY 60
- What FUTP 60 volunteer opportunities can I pursue?
- Opportunities to get involved locally with Fuel Up to Play 60 are limitless. Parents, community members, schools and health professionals are encouraged to identify different ways to implement the program and share their expertise – be creative!
- For Students: Be a Student Leader/Ambassador
- Fuel Up to Play 60 gives youth a voice by bringing together youth leaders so they can inspire healthy change for themselves, their schools and their communities. Developing a larger role for youth adds further credibility to Fuel Up to Play 60 and continues to ensure authentic implementation of the “for youth, with youth” messaging on a national level. Student Ambassadors also help give a face to the program, and provide valuable success stories at the local and national level
- For Adults in the School Building: Become a Fuel Up to Play 60 Advisor
- Help their schools activate the program and earn rewards. They engage and empower students to implement Fuel Up to Play 60 and encourage other adults to get involved. The Advisor is critical not only in successful implementation but sustainability of the program. Schools can have more than one!
- For Parents and Community Members: Be a Change Agent
- Parents and concerned community members can find out about your local school district’s wellness policies and practices. Contact school leaders and offer to help implement changes and serve on school wellness committees and boards. Offer to help out with local health fairs.
- Businesses, community members, health professionals, and parents are all encouraged to join the Fuel Up to Play 60 movement.
For more information on how you can get involved, email us at
NEDFC@NewEnglandDairy.com
InnerCity Weightlifting
- Finance and accounting – we are looking for help, in order to save costs, on keeping our books up to date and assistance with financial strategy.
- Coaching – leveraging weight training to build trusting relationships with our students, so that they lean on us for support in and outside the gym.
- Funding – assisting with grant research and writing, building relationships with large donors and maintaining relationships with partners.
*Contact Jon Feinman at
jon.innercity@gmail.com Rockwell Elementary School
- Supervise a Morning Exercise Station
- Run an afterschool fitness club or activity
- Participate in a Walk to School day
*Contact Tara McAuliffe at 401-254-5930
The Patriots Charitable Foundation is proud to work in conjunction with the American Heart Association, Fuel Up to PLAY 60, InnerCity Weightlifting and Rockwell Elementary School for " Exercise and Healthy Eating Volunteerism Week." American Heart Association At the American Heart Association, the mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. That single purpose drives all they do.
Fuel Up to PLAY 60Make a Difference in the Health of Today’s Children Childhood obesity is at an all-time high. Parents, community members, schools and health professionals play a critical role in the fight against obesity. The time is NOW to teach children how to live healthy, long lives through good nutrition and daily physical activity.
Committed to making a difference in the health of today’s children, parents, community members, schools and health professionals can join the movement to end childhood obesity by getting involved with Fuel Up to Play 60, an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council (NDC) and National Football League, in collaboration with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program encourages youth to consume nutrient-rich foods (low-fat and fat-free dairy foods, fruits, vegetables and whole grains) and to achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
InnerCity WeightliftingThe mission is to reduce violence and promote professional, personal and academic achievement among urban youth. InnerCity Weightlifting works with young people at the highest-risk for violence in order to reduce youth violence by getting them off the streets and into the gym, where they are empowered with the confidence and support needed to say no to violence and yes to opportunity.
Students want to come to InnerCity Weightlifting. Once there, this interest evolves towards more positive and complex goals such as finishing school, getting a job, eventually leaving a gang. They see peers whom they respect making these choices, and they see adults whom they respect supporting these choices. The path to change suddenly comes into focus.
Students most committed are eligible for an in-house career track in personal training and job opportunities running the InnerCity Weightlifting training locations, a career path that deepens them in a support system that has helped guide them through the most difficult decision points.
