Central Florida seniors volunteer to teach kids healthy habits

“I want some carrots! More carrots, please!” said a wide-eyed and spunky fifth grader at the Eatonville Boys and Girls Club on July 21, nearly leaping out of her seat to get the volunteers’ attention.

This morning snack of carrots, broccoli and cauliflower dipped in ranch dressing is a surprising favorite for all ages at the OASIS Catch Healthy Habits program.

The program gets senior citizens, who volunteer out at the Eatonville Boys and Girls Club, Winter Park Community Center and Brookshire Elementary every week, to interact with K-5 kids and teach them ways to stay healthy and active. With the support of a $148,286 grant from the Winter Park Health Foundation, Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning has established the Volunteers Organized in Community Engagement program, or VOICE, recruiting senior citizens to help kids latch onto healthy habits as part of this nationally renowned intergenerational program. The program has a three-pronged strategy, based on a snack packed with energy, a nutrition lesson, and a fun physical activity.

Volunteer Barbara J. Smith, who admitted her heart is still in the classroom, started off the nutrition lesson with some stoplight poly spots. She explained that green light “go” foods are healthy and can be eaten in great quantities. Yellow light “slow” foods should be eaten in moderation because they’re semi-healthy. And the most tempting of all foods, especially for active, chatty children who don’t need any more sugar, are the “whoa” foods, which should be eaten rarely.

Volunteer Karen Buchan, who prepares and delivers the healthy snack each week, said it is extremely rewarding seeing kids come back week after week remembering the nutrition lesson they learned and eager for more.

Barbara Reuter, a volunteer who’s been part of the Rollins program since its beginning last fall, said it’s the structured play that makes a big difference.

“So many children are not active,” Reuter said. “I’m very sold on the program, and I think if they got into more schools we’d see a big change in some of the habits of children.”

The program targets childhood and older adult obesity, by pairing senior citizens over the age of 50 with elementary school kids. After their healthy snack, Holly Tanyhill, VOICE coordinator, had all 25 kids hold onto a brightly colored parachute and work as a team to keep half a dozen balls bouncing continuously in a game she called “popcorn.” The volunteers retrieved the balls; tossing them back in if they escaped the perimeter of the parachute. Joyful squeals echoed off the gym walls as the children ran around the parachute, grinning ear to ear.

“It gives them a shared project and a really great one at that,” Tanyhill said. “They [the seniors] get attached.”

For Tanyhill, one of the biggest advantages to the program is that it fosters relationships. The volunteers collaborate, plan lessons and share a commitment to the kids that they spend time with over the course of eight weeks. In a win-win situation, they form a connection with the kids who then look up to them as adult role models.

“Everyone loves it – the volunteers, the children, the parents, the centers,” Tanyhill said.

The VOICE program invites seniors interested in engaging in the community and helping kids learn healthy habits to attend training on Sept. 23-24 at the Alfond Sports Center at Rollins.

As Tanyhill wraps up the activity, Reuter asks the children if they had a good time and learned something new. Arms waving everywhere, a chorus of “Yes!” can be heard.

“They never seem to want it to be over,” Reuter said.

Clearly, because she has a handful of helpers as she packs up the parachute. Some kids cling to her and the other volunteers, not wanting to leave after spending just one hour together.