Activate Elgin initiative holds first-ever summit

More than 100 Elgin-area leaders turned out Wednesday to spread the word about shaping up.

The Activate Elgin initiative held its first-ever healthy living summit at Elgin Community College.

The seven-hour free program aims to help local businesses, schools, hospitals, churches, neighborhood associations and community groups to form partnerships with one another and make better use of available resources.

Activate Elgin was formed in 2006, as part of the YMCA Activate America's Pioneering Healthier Communities initiative. Current projects, according to the initiative's Web site, include implementing five-minute fitness breaks for students, promoting healthier lunches and fitness, and bringing a Farmer's Market to Elgin's west side.

At the summit, Elgin Area School District U-46 Superintendent Torres and Highland Elementary Principal Steve Johnson took part in a round-table discussion about how eating habits affect the health and quality of life of Elgin residents.

Johnson spoke about Highland's receipt of a federal Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grant, which allotted $50 for each student to be exposed to new foods and learn healthy eating habits during the 2008-09 school year.

"You go and you watch students trying red beets for the first time," he said. "And then you hear from their parents that they go home and ask for different things they've tried to be served there."

Marjorie Gohl and Tom Armstrong, Active Transportation Alliance bicycle ambassadors, spoke to the group about biking to work and to school. The pair also will spend their summer visiting summer camps and local businesses advocating the benefits of two-wheeled commuting.

Much of a $100,000 Kane County grant, awarded to the initiative this spring, will be divvied up into mini-grants available to schools, neighborhood groups, and workplaces. Those interested should visit www.activateelgin.com.

Greater Elgin Area YMCA Association President Rick Reigner, who organized the event, said there were no set expectations for Thursday's summit. "The focus was introducing Activate Elgin to the larger community," he said. "Until now, it's really flown under the radar."