Advisor Meetings – Only One Left

Everyone joins the Junior League for different reasons: to meet people, get to know DC, or to find volunteer opportunities. The New Member group is in all different stages of life – married, career-focused, moms, single. With all these differences and the sheer size of the JLW, it seems like it might be hard to find your footing in the Junior League. That’s where New Member Advisors come in.

My advisor is Heather Foss, and she does a great job of turning the Junior League into an intimate group of friends and answering questions we may have. New Members are required to meet with their Advisor group four times during their New Member Year.

I have such a great time at these meetings! It’s a chance to connect with the other New Members in my Advisor group and see which Community Experiences or Mini-Placements they are doing. Heather also uses these meetings as an opportunity to check-in with each of us to see how we are doing on our requirements and fill us in on upcoming meetings and events.

We had our third Advisor Meeting last week and I was pretty sad to think we only have one more Advisor Meeting left before our New Member year is over. Getting together with new friends at Coco Sala, a chocolate lounge and boutique in D.C., doesn’t really feel like it should be fulfilling a requirement – it was simply too much fun!

Cooking Up a Day of Fun and Nutritional Literacy at Kids in the Kitchen

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. We can all agree that this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. But what’s the best way to reverse this trend?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched a $25 million project that aims to train children to improve their health habits by themselves. One tactic teaches elementary school students to prepare simple, healthy snacks. Showing a child how to make easy recipes builds self-confidence and encourages healthier choices. The Junior League of Washington, for the 6th year in a row, is helping to address this issue with Kids in the Kitchen. This event will take place on Saturday, March 3rd from 10am until 2pm at the YMCA National Capital in Northwest DC.

Kids in the Kitchen is an activity fair aimed at combating childhood obesity through education on nutrition and wellness. Additionally, it’s a free day of fun open to everyone! There are some awesome cooking demonstrations, and for those of you who are fans of the Food Network, there are going to be a former contestants from The Next Food Network Star at the event. There are activities and games focused on making healthy lifestyle choices. There’s a rumor going around about a giant Twister game and an obstacle course. I sure hope it’s true! One of the fitness activities will be teaching the children yoga. Is there anything cuter than a bunch of little kids in warrior pose? Namaste indeed!

There are even crafts focused on nutrition and fitness. One that I’m particularly looking forward to is a display of unusual fruits and veggies. Sure we’ve all seen star fruit at Whole Foods but does anyone actually know what dragon fruit looks like? Or what an African Cucumber feels like? I for one would love to find out! And there are activities for kids of all ages-- including our littlest chefs who can have fun "exercising" in our toddler mat/block area.

Kids leave this high-energy event with fantastic goodie bags and giveaways. These will serve as reminders of what they’ve learned after they get home so the fun and healthy lifestyle habits can continue.

Childhood obesity is a very real problem that affects way too many children. So grab your favorite little "sous chef" and head on down to the YMCA National Capital on March 3rd!

Bon Appétit!