Camden Community Charter School Students Team Up with the Philadelphia Soul to Learn About Healthy Living

The Camden Community Charter School recently hosted representatives from the Philadelphia Soul, Philadelphia’s arena football team, for a presentation on physical activity, nutrition and healthy living.

The presentation was part of an ongoing program facilitated by the Philadelphia Soul entitled “Activate Your SOUL.” Now in its second year, the program challenges children throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and northern Delaware to become enthusiastic advocates for their health.

On December 8, more than 100 Camden Community Charter School students in third-through-sixth grades learned about making healthy choices during the 30-minute assembly. Students became engaged in the assembly by helping representatives from the Philadelphia Soul identify healthy vs. unhealthy foods and demonstrating ways to stay active. After they were able to successfully teach Philadelphia Soul representatives how to eat well and stay active, they were challenged to do the same.

“Not only did our students have a great time at the Activate Your SOUL assembly, but the faculty did, as well. I truly believe that challenging the students by making lessons fun and engaging will encourage them to eat healthy and stay active,” said Camden Community Charter School Principal Andrea Surratt. “Our school’s programs work to make learning fun so students carry the lessons with them into their everyday lives.”

The Activate Your SOUL assembly is part of Camden Community Charter School’s overall health and wellness policy – the result of a $4,000 grant from the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids – to promote healthy living among students, their families and the community on a continuing basis. Now in its second year, Camden Community Charter School consists of a state-of-the-art classroom building and a gym and offers an innovative, supportive learning environment for 400 students from kindergarten through sixth grade.

At the end of the assembly, students received a log to track one activity and healthy food choice each day for two weeks. Once completed, the log will be returned to The Philadelphia Soul and students will earn a complimentary ticket to a 2015 Soul game. In addition, teachers have the opportunity to nominate program MVPs who they think went above and beyond. The winning students will be acknowledged on-field at the game they choose to attend.

“There is nothing more encouraging for children than working hard to stay healthy and active while getting rewarded for it in the end,” said Jessica DeVito, marketing manager, Philadelphia Soul. “Along with the Camden Community Charter School, more than 100 schools in the tri-state area have participated in Activate Your SOUL and the program has seen nothing but great success.”

The school with the highest participation (most food and activity logs returned) will win a visit by the entire Soul team at the end of the school year to celebrate.

To learn more about Camden Community Charter School, visit http://camdencharter.com. For more information on The Philadelphia Soul Activate Your SOUL program, visit www.philadelphiasoul.com/activate.