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Monthly Archives

August 2020

#WellnessWednesday Mindfulness

By Match Events

The final aspect of overall wellness we will look into this month is your mindset. So far, we have covered nutrition, sleep, and activity, all essential parts of overall wellness. Some will focus on these three, but we should not overlook mental wellness. How you feel mentally can affect your body and overall health in significant ways. HelpGuide describes some of the science behind the benefits of mindfulness. A healthy mind creates various mental and physical health benefits, leading to better overall well-being. 

There are several different activities to do to improve your mindset. On the website Mindful, you will find five ways to improve your mindset that incorporates the other three aspects we have covered in previous weeks. After doing these exercises, you will notice the difference in how you think daily. Improving your mindset will make the other three aspects more natural to incorporate into your everyday life. Try this out with your little this week and see the difference in how your week goes!

School-to-Work Celebration

By School-to-Work

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay hosted the 2020-2021 School-to-Work Virtual Celebration to show our appreciation for the incredible impact our workplace partners have on our Littles’ lives.

During the celebration, we recognized a few of our outstanding partners in our School-to-Work program. Mayor Jane Castor received the Outstanding Commitment to School-to-Work award. Janelle McGregor, Community Partnership Manager, spoke on behalf of Mayor Castor and the City of Tampa’s office to accept the award.

“We are very grateful to have an opportunity to reach students through this invaluable initiative,” said McGregor

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay presented the Outstanding Commitment to School-to-Work Mentoring Award to Carl Watts with the St. Petersburg Police Department, Kara Lecomte, and Will Miller with Nielsen, our longest School-to-Work partner.

Thank you to all of our School-to-Work partners and partner schools for igniting the power and promise of youth through one-to-one mentoring relationships.

Check out the School-to-Work Celebration presentation to learn more about School-to-Work

#WellnessWednesday Staying Active

By Match Events

This week our focus on a healthy lifestyle is activity. The benefits of an active lifestyle are extensive. Not only can it give you bigger muscles, but it can also improve your mood, give you an energy burst, and help maintain a strong immune system. Strengthening the muscles in your body is crucial to a longer and healthier life. So, whether you’re looking to get started with exercise or you are already a fitness fanatic, check out all the ways to stay fit—no matter what life throws at you.

The heart is the most important muscle in our body, and making sure it is healthy and in shape is key to overall wellness. The more activity you can do each week, the better, even if that means just a short walk outside. The most important part of staying active is finding something you enjoy doing. It can be as simple as taking a stroll in your neighborhood or throwing a football, or it can be a workout or a run. Each person is different, and finding something you love doing is crucial.

There are so many different activities that one can do for this week’s challenge. Try going for a walk outside! Aaptiv has bodyweight workouts you can do for an added challenge and does not require equipment. Try doing these a few times this week and a few times next week to see how much stronger you get. Bigs take a picture doing a workout with you Little and share it in the Big Networking group. Let us know which exercises or activities you tried. 

Running with Rays Virtual 5K

By Fundraising Events, Match Events

Our partners at the Tampa Bay Rays & Rowdies are hosting their first-ever Running with the Rays Virtual 5K Race! Proceeds benefit the Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund which supports Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay.

The Running with the Rays virtual 5K allows fans to run, jog or walk the 3.1 miles at their own pace and at the location of their choice anytime between September 1-30, 2020. Participants have the option to upload their race time to the Running with the Rays 5K Results Platform and share photos on social media using #Rays5K.

Participants may select one of two types of registrations: standard registration or premium registration. For $30, standard registration includes a commemorative finishers’ medal, race bib and downloadable finishers’ certificate. For $50, premium registration includes all the items in the standard registration plus a voucher for two (2) Lower Reserved tickets to a 2021 Rays regular season home game, subject to availability. Some exclusions apply. Fans who select premium registration will receive an email in March 2021 with information on how to redeem the ticket voucher. Race packets will be mailed within 7-10 days of registering, and include the commemorative Running with the Rays finisher medal and race bib.

For more information or to register, visit raysbaseball.com/5K.

The Rays Baseball Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of those in need within our community, focusing primarily on education, youth development, wellness and social responsibility.

 

—RAYS—
The Tampa Bay Rays mission is to energize the community through the magic of Rays baseball. The organization is committed
to building a strong community bond through meaningful interactions and charitable donations, and has proudly represented
Major League Baseball since 1998.

Eat Well, Do Good with 23rd Annual Columbia Community Harvest

By Fundraising Events

Support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay just by dining at any Columbia Restaurant in September.

Through its month-long 23rd annual Community Harvest program, the Columbia donates 5 percent of all diners’ checks to charities selected by the guests.

Over the last 22 years, the Columbia Restaurant’s Community Harvest has donated more than $2.6 million to non-profit organizations throughout Florida, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay. Community Harvest involves each of the Columbia locations, including Ybor City in the historic district of Tampa, St. Armands Circle in Sarasota, St. Augustine, Sand Key on Clearwater Beach, Central Florida’s town of Celebration, the Columbia Cafe on the Riverwalk in downtown Tampa at the Tampa Bay History Center and the Columbia Restaurant Cafe at Tampa International Airport.

All Columbia locations are open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. For more information, see www.ColumbiaRestaurant.com

“We started this program as a way to help many of the worthy non-profit groups that are so important to our communities,” said 4th generation family member and president Richard Gonzmart. “With the devastating effect of the coronavirus on the economy and overall decline in charitable donations, it’s even more important this year.”

The process is simple: Choose Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay on the ballot that’s provided with the check. The restaurant calculates the 5 percent and provides Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay with gift certificates that can be used for up to 12 months. There’s no additional cost to the guest!

#WellnessWednesday Healthy Sleep

By Match Events

This week our insight into overall wellness is sleep! Sleep is essential to overall wellness because it the key to mental and physical performance throughout the day. 1 in every 3 Americans does not get enough sleep each night. This creates several negative impacts on our bodies as well as our minds. However, when we do get enough sleep, we can prevent getting sick, think better, and be healthier and happier. Healthline explains the multitude of negative impacts a lack of sleep has on our body and mind. 

Consistent bedtime and wakeup times are so important to help you sleep better. This gives you a regular sleeping time for your body to get used to. Avoiding computers, cell phones, and TV 30 minutes before bedtime also creates better sleep. See if you and your Little can try to set a bedtime and “unplug” from electronics 30 minutes before going to sleep. 

Did you know that making your bed in the morning can help you go to sleep at night? This week’s #WellnessWednesday challenge is for Bigs & Littles to make your bed every morning before leaving your room and see how this small change impacts your sleep each night.

#WellnessWednesday Eating Healthy

By Match Events

To get your Little ready for the new 2020-2021 school year we are sharing #WellnessWednesday tips and activities to improve overall wellness for both Bigs and Littles. Each Wednesday throughout August, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay will cover one of the four most essential aspects of overall wellness: nutrition, sleep, activity, and mindset. Every week will include a small challenge or activity for Bigs and Littles to do together.

The first aspect of overall wellness is nutrition. Having a balanced diet is key to healthy living. The healthiest foods are those closest to their natural state, like fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, and brown rice. Finding unprocessed food is something that many think is a difficult, almost impossible task. However, there are replacements for almost every ultra-processed food that we buy at the store. Healthline explains the difference between processed and ultra-processed foods as well as replacements for some of the most popular choices.

There are numerous easy recipes on the internet to create food that is not only nutritious but enjoyable. The first #WellnessWednesday challenge is to make a pizza! Your goal is to create the healthiest, most creative pizza for you and your Little to try. Need some inspiration? Check out these recipes from Boboli, a pizza crust company, with several healthy recipes for pizza. This week’s challenge is to create a pizza with your Little via video chat (make sure both of you have the ingredients). Share a photo of your pizza to the “Big” Networking Facebook group with the hashtag #WellnessWednesday! We can’t wait to see all of your healthy pizza creations.

 

 

Check out week two of #WellnessWednesday on Healthy Sleep.

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