Dear Mrs. Obama

Dear Mrs. Obama: To end our country’s obesity epidemic,

Please redefine healthy eating.

A Documentary by

The Elgin Youth Leadership Academy

And Laura Dion-Jones for

The Global Youth Service Learning Project

This past year I’ve had the pleasure and honor of being an adult mentor twice a month for an incredible group of local Elgin kids grades 7 through 12 for the Elgin Youth Leadership Academy.

My subject was Nutrition and eight YLA kids signed up for my group – 5 boys and 3 girls.

I was puzzled when I first met my group of kids because not one of them was overweight. When I asked each one why they had chosen my topic of nutrition, each said in their own way that they wanted to learn the right way to eat now because most didn’t want to end up like their parents or relatives - overweight and sick with diabetes and other diseases.

Throughout the semester, I guided my cluster of kids as they researched our topic, fleshed it out and then helped put our presentation together that is now a mini-documentary.

The goal of the Nutrition Service Learning project is to redefine healthy eating by educating people about healthier diet options. The four diet options we chose include: the low-carbohydrate diet, the low fat diet, Mediterranean diet, and calorie counting.

We are all well aware that our country has an escalating obesity epidemic and our goal is to combat that obesity epidemic by building healthier communities through improving the healthy eating and fitness of individuals.

First Lady Michelle Obama is the Honorary Chair for Global Youth Service Day, which was April 15-17, 2011.

Mrs. Obama tirelessly encourages youth to find their voice, take action, and solve problems.

The Global Youth Service Learning Projects are a method of encouraging the youth to take more leadership.

Our documentary project on health and nutrition is listed on the GYSL website and will be posted on their site, on YouTube and other pertinent websites.

We also have a website dedicated to our documentary: www.dearmrsobama.com.

The Elgin Youth Leadership Academy, operating out of Elgin Community College, is a unique program providing a constructive, mentoring environment for students from low-income backgrounds who may be vulnerable to gangs, drugs, and other serious problems.

Through intensive leadership development, YLA cadets earn full tuition scholarships to attend Elgin Community College and Judson University, also in Elgin.

On Wednesday, May 11, 2011, my YLA kids and I will present our documentary to the Elgin City Council at the 7 PM CST meeting at Elgin’s City Hall. Please tune in to www.cityofelgin.org and go to the home page, click on the Video Center and then click on the May 11th meeting to watch live or later when you have time.

I am extremely proud of my group of YLA kids and the work they have done on this project. I hope we accomplish our goal of creating awareness about our country’s obesity epidemic by giving people healthier choices they may not have thought of before.

Laura Dion-Jones
May 9, 2011©