Program Background: The Healthy Living Style Youth Advocacy program is a venture supported by the Prevention Institution and operated by the Light and Salt Association. Its primary objective is to advocate for healthy living among youth. Recognizing the importance of youth involvement, AYLUS Pearland volunteers were invited to contribute their expertise in program design, evaluation, and execution. In its second year, the program underwent modifications based on valuable feedback received from the previous year’s volunteers. As a result, the program expanded to a week-long intensive initiative, and college students were invited to lead the youth participants.
Day 4 Activities:
Thursday commenced with an impressive showcase of the volunteers' diligent work on the nutrition profiles of various fruits and vegetables. They actively provided feedback to one another, collaboratively improving their posters. Esteemed dietitian students, Madison Brack and Kayley Neil, shared invaluable insights on the fundamental principles of food safety and sanitation. To ensure a safe and hygienic kitchen environment, the volunteers documented essential rules and guidelines for kitchen safety and sanitation. They inspected the LSA kitchen and posted kitchen safety rules on the wall for the special needs campers to follow. As a culmination of their efforts, they prepared a salad dressing using nutritious ingredients, which they provided to the participants of the special needs day program, fostering inclusivity and promoting healthy eating habits.
Following the productive morning session, the afternoon session commenced with an introduction to Mental Wellbeing, delivered by Lydia Tong. Ms. Tong guided the volunteers in collecting vital information regarding the symptoms of mental discomfort and effective remedies for treatment. If remedies aren’t enough, then treatment like Adolescent mental health counseling can be opted. Volunteers discussed the prevalent stigma surrounding mental health within Asian American communities and the cultural influences that often discourage individuals from seeking help. Then the volunteers developed strategies for identifying mental health issues and initiating supportive conversations. They served at both clinic and special needs day program to help the patients and campers feel welcomed.
Later in the afternoon, Dr. Deng led an insightful discussion on the concerning prevalence of tobacco use among youth. The volunteers created engaging presentations and eye-catching posters, with the aim of educating their peers about the harmful consequences of tobacco use. Through these educational materials, the volunteers sought to raise awareness and promote healthier choices among their youth community. The volunteers work will be displayed on the hallway wall.
Volunteers (6hrs): Cassie Lin, Aoyu Jin, Jordan Zheng, Abigail Zheng, Erica Gao, Junxi Ding, Bruce Zhang, Iris Yang, Jiaqi Ren, Daniel Sun, Fiona Byrd, Garbo Wood, Andrew Du, Hannah Zhou, Jacinta Huang, Ashley Zhuang, Katlyn Zhuang
