| Garden Pathways KIDS PATH | |
| Who | Garden Pathways and Joe Petersen (Race Across America ) |
| What | Garden Pathways is partnering with world-record breaking “Race Across America” Bakersfield cyclist Joe Petersen to help raise awareness of the benefits of childhood health . |
| Where | Race – Oceanside , CA to Atlantic City , NJ KIDS PATH – Bakersfield , CA |
| When | Race starts June 12, 2007 Estimated finish June 18-19 |
Garden Pathways, Inc. is partnering again with world-record breaking “Race Across America” Bakersfield cyclist Joe Petersen to raise awareness of the benefits of childhood health. For the second year, Race Across America will be the starting line for a continuous community effort to promote health and safety and prevent childhood obesity. Garden Pathways and Petersen have developed a unique partnership which incorporates an on-going initiative on improved health for children. In conjunction with local efforts, such as Get Moving Kern and the Kern County Department of Public Health, Garden Pathways actively fosters a healthy lifestyle for children.
Joe Petersen and Kevin McNulty of Team Body Xchange/Garden Pathways set a new world transcontinental record for the two-man race in the 2006 Race Across America (RAAM) as they cycled June 13-20, 2006 from Oceanside , CA to Atlantic City , NJ on behalf of Garden Pathways. With their record-breaking feat of 19.58 mph, Petersen and McNulty shattered the former record by nearly one mph.
Petersen and McNulty will race again for Garden Pathways in the 2007 Race Across America. Proceeds will help prevent childhood obesity and promote health, safety, and successful living for children and their families.
| The Facts | |
| Over the past three decades, the share of U.S. children who are overweight or obese has doubled , from 15 percent in the 1970s to nearly 30 percent today, while the share of children who are obese has tripled from 5 to 15 percent. | The Future of Children, vol. 16, no. 1, Spring 2006. The Future of Children is a publication of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution. See executive summary from the Journal "The Future of Children" |
| The 2005-06 California Physical Fitness Report of students from Kern County in Grade 5 indicates that 43% are unfit (in aerobic capacity) and 35% are overweight (in body composition). | California Department of Education, Standards and Assessment Division, 2005-06 California Physical Fitness Report. |
| Overweight and obesity in children pose a serious health threat. Children who are overweight are at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and asthma, and are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease. | USDHHS. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Atlanta , GA , 2001. |
| Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children. | USDHHS. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Atlanta , GA , 2001. |
Garden Pathways KIDS PATH
The out-of-school hours play an important role in the development of healthy children. The nature of after-school and summer camp programs presents a unique opportunity to influence healthy eating patterns and the physical activity of children and their families . In collaboration with other community partners, E3, a division of Garden Pathways, Inc., is offering a focus on children's health in its KIDS PATH program during E3 Summer Day Camp . Garden Pathways will continue the emphasis in the fall at E3 Performing Arts after-school program. Through Garden Pathways KIDS PATH, Petersen will share his skills as a certified personal trainer to work with E3 students to develop positive fitness and health habits . Petersen will mentor and personally train students facing overweight challenges and will provide interactive nutritional and fitness counseling for their families . Students will learn how to make healthy choices . They also will have opportunity to improve their physical fitness through E3's active program which includes dance and gymnastics.
In conjunction with other community agencies and partners, Garden Pathways will share lessons learned through its KIDS PATH childhood health initiative to benefit other out-of-school programs both locally and beyond and positively influence healthy living for children and their families.
Contact
To learn how you or your organization can become involved or be a sponsor, contact:
• Karen Goh , Executive Director, Garden Pathways, Inc. (661) 633-9133
• Shay Brandon Burke , Program Director, E3 Performing Arts (661) 323-8311
Garden Pathways
900 22nd Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301
For tax-deductible donations or pledges to Garden Pathways, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit, you may reference EIN # 77-0442212.
Garden Pathways, Inc.
Garden Pathways, Inc ., a community-based non-profit organization, provides innovative opportunities for families and individuals of all ages to discover their unique purpose, activate their personal creativity, live in health and safety, and develop skills for success in life. Through collaborative efforts with community agencies, community service groups, and faith-based organizations, Garden Pathways offers mentoring , training, and education in the arts and the art of living. Innovative mentoring interventions for adults, youth, and children build productive lives and lead at-risk families to self-sufficiency. Programs include Family to Family Mentoring, The Garden Preschool, E3 Performing Arts, and The Gate.
• Family to Family Mentoring helps grow healthy families by providing comprehensive mentoring services to guide and encourage those who are trying to overcome poverty and at-risk conditions. Family to Family's broad range of mentoring services covering essential life skills, effectively strike at the heart of issues that keep people from reaching their potential. Participants served include families in welfare-to-work and child protective services programs, as well as emancipating and emancipated foster youth, pregnant and parenting youth, truant youth, gang-impacted youth, and other at-risk youth. In their naming of Family to Family Mentoring as a statewide “promising practice,” the University of Southern California and California Council of Churches recognized Garden Pathways as an exemplary model of collaboration.
• The Garden Preschool and Infant Care nurtures comprehensive readiness for success in school and life in all areas — intellectual, physical, social, emotional, and artistic.
• E3 Performing Arts provides a creative alternative to traditional day care — students discover and develop their unique purpose and creativity as they engage in a broad spectrum of the arts, academic enrichment, and physical activities.
• The Gate provides a safe venue for young people to listen to and perform the music that they love under mature mentoring influences.
Garden Pathways, Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization in Bakersfield , CA founded in 1997 by local individuals seeking to translate their faith into effective community building. Garden Pathways offers its services without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, or any other classification protected by law.
E3 Performing Arts
E3 Performing Arts, a division of Garden Pathways, Inc., provides a creative alternative to traditional day care . Students discover and develop their unique creativity as they engage in a broad spectrum of the arts, academic enrichment, and physical activities. E3's classes give 
students rich exposure to diverse art forms, including drama, dance, vocal and instrumental music, visual arts, and gymnastics. The program's comprehensive offerings also provide abundant support for students to improve their academic skills and physical fitness. E3 is the performing arts program of choice for some of the area's most talented, award-winning students. For beginners, E3's exploratory program activates artistic ability and opens new doors of discovery. E3's broad dimensions of learning extend to character education to nurture life-building character traits. Garden Pathways' commitment to serve students from at-risk and low-income families brings enrichment and advancement to those who otherwise would not have the opportunity.
E3, a fully-licensed child care center , provides innovative after-school day care and summer and winter day camp programs. (California Day Care Center License #153801819).
Joe Petersen
Joe Petersen , age 48, a certified personal trainer, progressed from track and cross-country in school, to triathlons, to cycling, and to ultra marathons. He has captured numerous ultra marathon bicycle race titles, including 4-Man RAAM 1st Place 1995, 1996, 1997 ( Record 1996 ), 2-Man RAAM 1st Place ( Record 2006 ), 4-Man Furnace Creek 508 1st Place 2005 ( Record ), 2-Man Furnace Creek 508 ( 1st Place Overall 2006 Record ), 2-Person Mixed Furnace Creek 508 ( 1st Place 2003 Record ), and 4-Person Mixed Furnace Creek 508 ( 1st Place Overall 1997 Record ). Petersen is an eight-time California State TT champion.
The 2007 Race Across America (RAAM) will be Petersen's ninth RAAM race of over 3,000 miles. Created in 1982, Race Across America is the longest running ultra-distance bicycle endurance competition in the world. Petersen, who has competed in more team RAAM events than anyone else, is the “ winningest rider .” He encourages others, “There is a champion in each and every one of us.”