Annual event brings leaders and students together to focus on empowering youth
The fifth convening of the GENYOUth Leadership Roundtable on Thursday, July 28th brought 20 senior business, education and health & wellness leaders together to identify solutions they can support to empower and equip even more enterprising students in their quest for healthier, higher-achieving schools.
This year’s Leadership Roundtable was hosted by the Indianapolis Colts and held concurrently with the annual Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador Summit. In addition to the Leadership Roundtable participants, 156 students from 45 states descended on the Colts’ headquarters and training facility in Indianapolis to take part in discussions with a diverse group of influential leaders and showcase their innovative health and wellness projects created during the Summit. A special thanks to The Quaker Oats Company for their sponsorship of the event and to Land O’Lakes for their Summit and grant support for student-lead projects.
“I was so pleased to see the diversity of leaders in attendance and moved by their collective passion for taking action, which continues the development of programs that make youth empowerment possible,” said Alexis Glick, CEO of GENYOUth. “This was a tremendous opportunity for our valued partners and new participants alike to connect with and be inspired by our outstanding Student Ambassadors who every day demonstrate the commitment they make to the health and well-being of their peers, schools and communities.”
The Leadership Roundtable is crucial to GENYOUth planning, as these high-level participants, in collaborative discussion, provide invaluable insights, guidance, and ideas into how the organization can collectively encourage, create, and sustain youth empowerment in all its forms. Attendees identified additional platforms to elevate the youth voice and engage students more directly in advancing wellness in their schools and communities by providing grants, building mentor relationships and developing experiential learning opportunities.
Becky Frankiewicz, general manager of Quaker Foods North America, moderated a three-student panel during which students shared their personal experiences with GENYOUth’s programs and how what they’ve learned through the programs has helped prepare for their future.
“The event provided national leaders a wonderful opportunity to interact with some of the highest-achieving young people in America,” said Frankiewicz. “It was fantastic to be part of an event focused on nutrition and physical activity solutions in which the youth voice is regarded as a powerful influencer. Supporting that part of GENYOUth’s work is a special privilege, not only for Quaker but for me personally as a mother of three.”
Noa, a Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador and participant in the Roundtable, added that she valued the opportunity to connect directly with Leadership Roundtable participants. “It was energizing to have my voice and the voices of fellow students be part of an event focused on building youth empowerment, nutrition and physical activity solutions.”
Event Highlights:
During the four-day Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador Summit and Leadership Roundtable, students participated in workshops, heard from influential speakers, met NFL players, and engaged in nutrition and physical activity competitions. There were also several big presentations and announcements made that directly impacted the future of Student Ambassadors. These included:
Power of Persuasion:
Students attended a “Power of Persuasion” session where they created arguments for why school meals matter and identified ways they can have a voice in improving their school meals. Nearly 50 students presented to a panel of judges from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Three finalists were selected and invited to travel to Washington D.C. to participate in a face-to-face meeting with USDA leaders to present their ideas.
Land O’Lakes Farm-to-School Grant Competition:
More than 50 kids competed at the Summit for the chance to win one of 10 grants from Land O’Lakes worth $1,500 each to implement their innovative ideas on how to bring farm-to-school projects to their schools through their communities. They, too, had to appear in front of a panel of judges that included Land O’Lakes CEO Chris Policinski and Lydia Botham, vice president of the Land O’Lakes Foundation. In a “Shark Tank” style presentation, students were selected for their winning pitches.
Bill McDermott Scholarship:
GENYOUth CEO, Alexis Glick, announced the first ever Bill McDermott Scholarships which will be provided personally by SAP’s CEO in the amount of $25,000 dollars to three high school juniors or seniors for college. This scholarship will be made available to AdVenture Capital participants, Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassadors or FUTP 60 Summit attendees.
President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition:
In celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, Shellie Pfohl, executive director of the President’s Council, shared the exciting commitment of the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition to provide $100,000 in grants to Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassadors. Starting this fall, students will have the opportunity to compete for funding to implement the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, which will enable students go from zero to sixty every day!
Organizations with leaders attending the 2016 Leadership Roundtable were:
AASA / The School Superintendents Association
Arby’s Foundation
Christel House International
Fair Oaks Farms
Fuel Up to Play 60 Youth Council
Indianapolis Colts
Indy 500 Festival
Land O’Lakes Foundation
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
National Dairy Council
Nestle
NIKE
PlayScience
President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition
Quaker Foods North America
SHAPE America
USDA
Web Source International
WorkForce Software
GENYOUth — a national nonprofit – specializes in a range of national initiatives including the largest in-school wellness program (Fuel Up to Play 60) in partnership with the National Dairy Council and the NFL, an innovative youth social entrepreneurship program (AdVenture Capital), youth and thought-leader engagements (Leadership Roundtables, Student Ambassador Summit, Town Halls), and widely circulated stakeholder-targeted publications.
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About GENYOUth
GENYOUth empowers students to create a healthier future for themselves and their peers by convening a network of private and public partners to raise funds for youth wellness initiatives that bolster healthy, high-achieving students, schools and communities nationwide. We believe that all students are change-agents, who deserve the opportunity to identify and lead innovative solutions that positively impact nutrition, physical activity, and student success. For more information about GENYOUth, visit: www.genyouthnow.org.
About Fuel Up to Play 60
Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Football League (NFL) and National Dairy Council (NDC), which was founded by America’s dairy farmers, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Fuel Up to Play 60 is designed to engage and empower youth to take action for their own health by implementing long-term, positive changes for themselves and their schools. The program additionally encourages youth to consume nutrient-rich foods (low-fat and fat-free dairy, fruits, vegetables and whole grains) and achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. As a result of the program, last year 14 million students made better food choices and are getting more physically active during the school day. Fuel Up to Play 60 is further supported by several health and nutrition organizations: Action for Healthy Kids, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Association/Foundation, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Medical Association and School Nutrition Association. Visit FuelUpToPlay60.com to learn more.