Naperville events promote healthy mind, body, land
A healthy mind already pairs well with a healthy body, but a series of Naperville events is adding one more component: a healthy land.
The 25 groups in Naperville's Collaborative Youth Team, led by the nonprofit group KidsMatter, are concluding a yearlong focus on health with Healthy Community Matters Week, a time of free opportunities for residents to improve their physical, mental or environmental well-being.
"Our hope is families get to learn something valuable that will make their lives healthier," IdaLynn Wenhold, KidsMatter executive director, said.
The event begins with a free community night from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at DuPage Children's Museum. It continues Saturday with yoga on the Riverwalk, Healthy Kids Day events at the Kroehler and Fry YMCAs and a rain barrel and Arbor Day tree sale at the public works service center.
A 45-minute outdoor yoga session begins at 9 a.m. at the base of Rotary Hill. Once the breathing and stretching are over, it'll be time for the a jumping jacks challenge at 9:45 and Hula-Hooping at 9:50.
"We're just trying to get people out of the house and out in nature and get the word out about being healthy," Ray McGury, Naperville Park District executive director, said.
Other events promoting a healthy body include disc golf, which is free every day, and a family scavenger hunt Saturday, May 7, at Knoch Knolls Nature Center.
"It highlights natural features of the park and engaging ways for families to interact with nature," Wenhold said about the half-mile hunt, which families can attempt between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The Alive Center and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health will lead the focus on a healthy mind. Alive Center events include guided meditation for a healthy mind at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 1, and a mindful life coaching session at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 4.
The nonprofit community center at 500 W. Fifth Ave. also will be the site for a free Youth Mental Health First Aid course offered by Linden Oaks. The eight-hour course will be split over two days, running 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursdays, May 5 and May 12, to teach people how to spot the signs of mental illness in young people and respond appropriately.
"We're going to offer it free for any resident of the community," said Amit Thaker, director of marketing and business development for Linden Oaks.
Participants also can relieve the stresses of the online world by taking a Screen-Free Sunday challenge May 1. A screen-free pledge, which ironically can be downloaded online at bit.ly/ScreenFreeCard, asks participants not to watch TV, play video games, go online or use social media.
Events to promote environmental health are led by free tours of composting operations at North Central College at 1 p.m. Sunday, 3:15 and 4:15 p.m. Thursday, May 5, and 9 a.m. Saturday, May 7. Sustainability Coordinator Brittany Graham will lead the tours and present five steps to start composting at home.
"It doesn't make any sense at all to throw nutrient rich resources into a landfill where it just sits there," Graham said. "It's about time that people in the area start getting familiar with separating out their food scraps."
A map available at http://www.kidsmatter2us.org/healthy-roadmap/ lists all the times, dates, places and phone numbers of the week's events with links to details. Wenhold said she hopes to make Healthy Community Matters week an annual occurrence.
"The most important part of this initiative," she said, "is to be able to offer to our kids and families free programs and events and activities to promote and build healthy minds, healthy bodies and healthy land."