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New Brunswick

Ciclovia event opens the streets of New Brunswick to encourage active living

October 6, 2013

Originally posted on nj.com The City of New Brunswick, along with community and collaboration partners held its first Ciclovia for the citizens of its city.  Thousands of New Brunswick residents were encouraged to come out on Sunday, October 6th for the free event that took over 3.4 miles of streets with adults and children engaging in leisurely walking, jogging, skating, and dancing.  Designed to encourage enjoyment of Downtown New Brunswick, the Ciclovia route exposed participants to many of the city’s attractions, parks and local businesses. It also encouraged people to engage with one another through a variety of activities, including dance, yoga and Zumba classes. Ciclovia is a Spanish word that means “bike way” and is described as a designated bike route or an event that opens the streets for use by pedestrians and cyclists.  Ciclovia began in Bogota, Colombia in 1976, as a way to promote community engagement in […]

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First Ciclovia Coming to New Brunswick on October 6th

August 29, 2013

It’s not every day that more than 55,000 New Brunswick residents are encouraged to walk, skate, run, rollerblade or dance in the streets at the same time.  However, on Sunday, October 6th from 10:00 am-3:00 pm the first New Brunswick Ciclovia will open more than three miles of streets to encourage people of all ages and abilities to be physically active. The free event is a community collaboration and partnership of the City of New Brunswick, New Brunswick Tomorrow, Johnson & Johnson and Rutgers University. The New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-New Brunswick is also among the many partners that are actively participating in and leading financial support to the event. The goal is to promote active living for the entire community through open and car-free streets. Translated from Spanish to English as “bike way,” a Ciclovia can be described as a designated bike route or an event that opens […]

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$3,000 Grant to Benefit Healthy Childhood Program at YMCA

May 31, 2013

Published in the New Brunswick Patch on May 31, 2013 The Raritan Valley YMCA, the sponsoring agency in the NJPHK–New Brunswick effort to reduce childhood obesity through environmental and policy change, received a $3,000 grant from fitness equipment manufacturer Precor, to benefit the YMCA’s Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) standards for children. SHARE:

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Sharing Responsibility for our Roads

February 23, 2013

Darrin Anderson, PhD, New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids’ (NJPHK) deputy director, Fatimah Williams Castro, PhD, program manager for NJPHK-New Brunswick and several others, represented the Partnership at the annual NJ Bike & Walk Summit. The event was sponsored by the New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition (NJBWC) and held February 23 in New Brunswick, in collaboration with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center. The NJBWC is a state-wide advocacy group that promotes safe and accessible opportunities for bicyclists and walkers, who face an increasing threat from distracted drivers, as well as a shortage of streets that are adequately designed or signed for biking and walking. The Summit’s more than 20 panel sessions covered a myriad of issues focused on making New Jersey’s roadways safe for cyclists, pedestrians and all users – a goal that meshes well with the Partnership’s aim of improving the built environment in communities across the […]

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NJPHK Congratulates Dr. Williams-Castro on Johnson & Johnson Community Service Award

February 21, 2013

Dr. Fatimah Williams Castro received a Johnson & Johnson Community Service Achievement Award during the 35th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Observance.   Held on February 21 at the company’s New Brunswick headquarters, the event was hosted by J&J’s “Helping Our Neighbors with Our Resources (H.O.N.O.R.) Employee Resource Group.  Nearly 300 employees, residents and local community partners attended the event and enjoyed special presentations, entertainment and refreshments. The Community Service Achievement Award was presented by J&J’s Director of Corporate Contributions Bonnie Petrauskas who also serves on the steering committee for the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-New Brunswick (NJPHK) and is a member of the NJPHK State Advisory Council. The award recognized Williams Castro’s commitment and leadership in bringing together New Brunswick community leaders to focus on childhood obesity prevention. Through Williams Castro’s leadership, NJPHK-New Brunswick and its partners worked together to expand the Greater Brunswick Charter School’s breakfast […]

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Building an Alliance in New Brunswick

January 28, 2013

The entire city of New Brunswick is celebrating the opening of The Fresh Grocer, the long-anticipated, first full-service supermarket in New Brunswick in more than 20 years. Yet no organization is likely to be as energized by this monumental milestone as NJPHK-New Brunswick’s Community Partner, the New Brunswick Community Food Alliance (NBCFA), because of the important role the supermarket will play in supporting NBCFA’s mission.   NBCFA, officially recognized by the New Brunswick City Council just a year ago, works as a food policy council, and is comprised of a dynamic alliance of city residents, college students, community leaders, and local government working to build a sustainable and just food system in New Brunswick, ensuring that all residents have permanent access to nutritious, safe, affordable, and culturally appropriate food. The opening of the 50,000 square-foot supermarket from The Fresh Grocer, a company that develops new stores in communities lacking availability of […]

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NJHA Presents Awards for Commitment to Healthcare

January 25, 2013

Originally published in heraldonline.com Several individuals and organizations were honored today at the 94th Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) at the Hyatt Regency Princeton.  NJHA Healthcare Leader Awards The 2013 Distinguished Service Award was presented to Chester B. Kaletkowski of Mullica Hill, president and CEO of South Jersey Healthcare in Vineland. Kaletkowski was honored for his more than 30 years of service, leadership and commitment.  Among his many accomplishments, Kaletkowski is credited with bringing together a group of community hospitals in Cumberland and Salem counties to form the South Jersey Healthcare system. Read more SHARE:

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Fresh Grocer supermarket opens in New Brunswick, addressing ‘food desert’ challenge

November 9, 2012

Originally publishd in NJBIZ After several delays in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, public- and private-sector groups were finally able to enjoy the fruits of their labor today with the opening of a new full-service fresh food supermarket in New Brunswick, which represents the urban center’s first successful grocery store development in more than two decades. The new 50,000-square-foot Fresh Grocer is part of Wellness Plaza, a mixed-use redevelopment project by New Brunswick Development Corp. that includes a 60,000-square-foot fitness center, a 1,275-space parking garage and, eventually, an elevated walkway connected to the train station. According to Devco President Christopher J. Paladino, Wellness Plaza is the second phase of a three-part plan to redevelop New Brunswick into a transit village. In February, Devco completed the plan’s first phase — a $150 million project to open 650,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial and residential space — and the development firm expects […]

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Rutgers University and Raritan Valley YMCA Join Forces for Healthy Families

August 23, 2012

Until recently, six year old Roberto had never dipped into a public pool or had any swim lessons.  However, Roberto and a number of other New Brunswick neighborhood children, along with their parents were able to participate in a six-week swim program this summer every Friday night. Thanks to an agreement between the Raritan YMCA and Rutgers University Cook College, families from PRAB, Unity Square and Mae J. Strong Child Development Center were able to access the University’s pool to learn how to swim during off peak hours.  Partnership agreements like these help improve the health of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity, while maximizing resources.  “When we work together as a community, we’re empowered to give our children and families more opportunities to be active, and that’s critical to preventing obesity,” said Gina Stravic, President of the Raritan YMCA and Co-director of New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-New […]

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Spotlight on Fatimah Williams Castro, PhD

August 23, 2012

As NJPHK-New Brunswick’s Partnership Coordinator, Dr. Fatimah Williams Castro believes that creating healthy communities is the key to reversing the obesity epidemic. “Children need safe places to walk, bike and play and families need access to fresh foods at affordable prices,” Dr. Williams Castro explains. “My goal for NJPHK-NB is to cultivate a movement that draws on the strength of New Brunswick’s local assets, including community-based organizations and families and the research, corporate, health, and public sectors. Together, we can tackle this epidemic in New Brunswick and keep our kids and their families active and healthy.” Dr. Williams Castro joined the NJPHK-NB in June 2011. She holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Rutgers University. She has contributed to health research with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and has a background in social movements, law, and urban studies.  She spent a number of years in Honduras, Central America where […]

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