Roses are red, violets are blue, take care of your heart, and it will take care of you! There’s more than one reason to share the love this February–this month is American Heart Month. Heart disease is the number one cause of death for both women and men in America; in fact, one out of every four deaths in the U.S. every year is due to heart disease. In partnership with IT’S TIME TEXAS, Greater Austin residents can call our Navigation Center at 2-1-1 and speak to a Living Healthier coach who can give you tips and help you set goals to get your health and fitness on track. One of our Living Healthier coaches, Suzanne, provided us with a few tips for easy ways to start taking care of your heart. These small steps can go a long way to creating lifetime of heart health: Make physical activity part of your everyday routine One easy change: skip the elevator, take the stairs. Climbing stairs is a natural and easy way to fit physical activity into your work week. Burn an extra 100-200 calories by incorporating this simple change into your day. Need a creative boost? Try hosting “walking meetings.” A study from Stanford University found that participants increased their creativity levels by an average of 60% when walking compared to sitting. Next time your brain is dry for ideas, get walking for that creative flow. Instead of watching TV after dinner, go on a family walk around the neighborhood to catch up and share […]
Read MoreTexas Mutual Donates Bikes to Middle School Students
As students and their families filled the Decker Middle School cafeteria last Thursday for an end-of-camp celebratory dinner, the camp’s English teacher welcomed families by giving a speech about the enduring memories of his summers spent at his Boy Scouts camp. The events that followed left our campers with their own bank of fond memories of a summer spent learning, building new skills and making new friends. Throughout the course of the night, students presented their summer work to their peers and families, showed younger siblings the collages they made and the personal stories they recorded, and stepped forward to receive awards and recognition for their hard work and leadership. Awards given to the students included the “Change Maker Award,” “Force for Good Award” and “Spirit of Service Award.” The final and most coveted award of the night carried much anticipation; students worked for weeks on creative projects for the chance to win a brand new bike. Texas Mutual Insurance Co. built 14 new bikes to give away to selected students at Decker, complete with encouraging cards, helmets and locks, all to support the summer learning initiatives of UWATX and the students who made the choice to return to school during the summer to continue their education. At Decker Middle School, camp staff saw the bike giveaway as an opportunity for the students to display their leadership and creativity by opting in to a bike contest. Students could either give an oral presentation, draw a picture or write an essay […]
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