Promote health in 100 teens in Portland, Oregon

When Aaliyah first heard about MIKE Program’s health leadership project in her health class she felt overwhelmed. The ninth grader at De La Salle North Catholic High School in Portland wondered how she would gain the courage to present her team’s project in a public environment.

De La Salle North Catholic embeds MIKE Program into its health class for all ninth graders. MIKE includes a community outreach component in its program delivery. As MIKE youth progress toward their leadership project, they discover their potential for promoting healthy behaviors. When Aaliyah’s team presented their project on food marketing at a nearby elementary school, she had progressed enough to gleefully exclaim, “I volunteered to create and present the final portion of our project.”

The process leading to community outreach begins with MIKE mentors serving as role models and guides for the youth. Each mentor volunteers one day a week for the entire semester with four-to-five youth. The small groups form a bond that offers a safe environment for the youth to gain confidence.

“Working on the project brought me closer to everyone in my group,” said one of Aaliyah’s classmates, Esme. She added that the experience helped her be more at ease when she had to present her team’s project to a class of eighth graders. “I’m especially glad my mentor was there,” said Esme.

MIKE mentors help the youth prepare for their presentations with a series of decision-making techniques. The techniques are introduced throughout the program through hands-on activities and group discussions. As the youth absorb the techniques into their personal behaviors, they begin to realize their own capacity for promoting health beyond their immediate circle of friends and family.

MIKE helps youth embrace healthy behaviors with a variety of engaging lessons that provide a fun, yet informative way for the youth to build a foundation of health. Youth discover skills to analyze nutrition labels on food products, measure their blood pressure and interview individuals undergoing kidney dialysis treatment.

As they approach the final weeks of the program, each team selects a health topic, develops their project presentation and chooses a venue for their presentation. “I liked that we all had a role in creating it,” said Aaliyah’s classmate Alex.

When the youth head out to present their projects, they feel empowered to advocate for health with youth-driven solutions. Many of the youth choose to return to their former middle or elementary schools. “It felt great to help kids feel better,” said Daniel, whose group introduced sixth graders to stress balls as a way to lessen stress. “And I found out that I’m good with kids!” he exclaimed.

 Another team looked to basketball for their project inspiration.

 “I liked how we could teach younger kids our favorite sport,” said Steven. He said his team wanted to instill positive physical activity habits into young children, so they designed a mini basketball camp for second-graders at Woodlawn Elementary School.

While Steven admitted it was challenging to manage a small gymnasium full of bouncy second graders, he was thrilled to watch his young audience respond so enthusiastically. “I loved that the kids were having fun,” he said.

Besides the basketball camp, this year’s project themes included improving nutrition, taking steps toward healthy lifestyles, addressing mental health and stress, avoiding chronic diseases and developing healthy decision-making skills. With a total of 30 projects, MIKE youth reached out to more than 730 individuals within their communities.

Your support of MIKE provides youth an opportunity to advance health within their communities. “I learned that it’s good to give back to the community whenever and however you can,” said Aaliyah. “It was a great experience.”

Links:

• MIKE Program website