Category: Miscellaneous

From couch to 5k…you can do it!

Can’t run 3.1 miles?

Cory Frederick couldn’t run that far either at this time last year, but thanks to what is called the “Couch-to-5K” program, he was able to go the distance at the Diakon Wilderness Center’s 2014 Outdoor Adventure Challenge.

As a member of the event’s planning committee and a huge fan of the Diakon Wilderness Center’s mission to help at-risk youths, I wanted to use my experience as a personal trainer/gym owner/runner to draw more people to the 5K, but also to help others simply gain the benefits of exercise. To that end, I offer some helpful tips below.

Living with Alzheimer’s … some bonds just can’t be broken

Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that progressively harms and ultimately destroys brain cells, leading to memory loss and changes in thinking and other brain functions.

People are at the greatest risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease if they are more than 85 years of age; they may have a reduced risk of developing memory loss-related diseases if they maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their lives, according to the National Alzheimer’s Association.

Because people experience Alzheimer’s disease differently with varying symptoms, it is important that a doctor provide the diagnosis. Symptoms generally include the loss of problem-solving ability, impaired judgment, and loss of short-term memory.

Alzheimer’s disease occurs gradually. In fact, after a diagnosis is made, family members often say they believe they should have “seen it coming.”

As families learn to deal with a loved one’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, they must become aware of the reality they face—the disease gets progressively worse and families should make plans to handle that decline.

Learning to help the bay

A few years ago, we went sailing with a friend and her husband on the Chesapeake Bay. It was a beautiful day—though no strains of Christopher Cross ran through my head—and an unbelievably calming experience.

Of course, when you do that, you tend to take for granted the quality of the water beneath you. But my friend indicated the Chesapeake was still on the mend … but had made progress thanks to people such as those responsible for the grant below, which will have a positive effect not only on the bay but also on the lives of at-risk youths …

Sail on to read some interesting information …

An unexpected and perfect plan

The plan. We all have one. This idea in our head about how our life is going to be. My plan was wonderful. I was going to marry the man of my dreams. We were going to get pregnant soon after with our first child and then every two years or so after that we would add another little person to our family until we felt complete. Perfection right? But, you see, that was Monica’s plan, not God’s plan.

It took me until about our fourth miscarriage to realize my “plan” wasn’t going to happen. So what do we do now? We want to be parents. The fertility specialist can’t figure my strange body out! Now what? Adopt? At this moment I just needed someone to call me Mommy. And adoption felt so natural to me because it was something I always dreamed of doing later in life.

Mirror, mirror….am I thin enough?

By the age of 6, girls start to express concerns about their weight or shape, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Approximately half of elementary school girls (ages 6 through 12) are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat.

The statistics on individuals struggling with eating disorders are startling. In the United States alone, 20 million woman and 10 million men struggle or have struggled with an eating disorder.

What is an eating disorder? I can tell you what it isn’t—a trend, a lifestyle or just a phase someone is going through. It is a serious problem that more often than not requires professional intervention. And the sooner the intervention takes place, the better the treatment outcome tends to be.

Help your kids be happy (summer) campers

Each day a new summer camp brochure arrives in my mailbox, perhaps in yours as well. My daughters have always enjoyed going to camps and I believe those camps have positively influenced my children.

Not only have my daughters explored and learned new things based on the theme of the camp, but participation has helped them to build positive character traits and develop social skills. They always came back with great stories to tell us and new friends to stay in touch with!

Immeasurable potential

“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.”
~ John Whitehead, Rutherford Institute

Potential.

That’s the one word that sticks in my mind when I think about Diakon Youth Services. The unlimited potential to shape the lives of youths in our community. The potential to do good. The potential to spread love and compassion. The potential to create bonds that last a lifetime.

How to be the real MVP (most valuable parent)

Youth sports continue to be of interest to blogs and media, often with mentions of “helicopter” parents, disrespectful players and belligerent coaches.

So what, you may wonder, can parents do to make the experience a positive one for their children? Jeremias Garcia, who oversees the Center Point Day Program at the Diakon Wilderness Center near Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, not only has extensive experience working with young people of all backgrounds, but also has coached various ages and levels of boys and girls basketball and girls soccer.

We asked him to share his experiences and advice:

Volunteer helps a “Buddy”

One of some 230 meals on wheels volunteers with Diakon Community Services, Michelle Eshelman enjoys helping people. Sometimes, that help takes a different turn …making her a new “Buddy” in the process…. She writes about the experience:

The first time I delivered meals to “Buddy’s” owner, I could not help but notice Buddy. He barked from the time I pulled in until the time I left. This continued for the next three or four deliveries. Every time I made a delivery, I would talk to him, but he just barked.

Why not volunteer?

Why volunteer? Why not? A meals on wheels volunteer, Barbara Carduff, shares her reasoning:

“I work at Schuylkill Medical Center South and a coworker of mine volunteers for Meals on Wheels and said they were in need of someone in Shenandoah[, Pennsylvania,] for Wednesdays. My daughter, who is a nursing student, was off from classes that day so we thought, why not?