I will be chronicling the start of the conference and the back-to-back morning sessions that focus on the disproportionate impact of prison and the criminal justice system on specific communities in New York City, mainly in the Bronx and Central Brooklyn, and how community-based strategies can promote healthy children, families and neighborhoods.

Read and watch the full coverage here.

Or, if you were a member of the New York City branch of the Knights of Pythias, you’d be selling super-sized coloring books at the local diner.

Over the December 13-14 weekend, members sat in the wait-bench area of the Kings Plaza Diner with dozens of large coloring books for sale, 3 for $15. That Sunday, I watched as Craig Shink, a Knights of Pythias Grand Council member in New York, and his teenaged helper, Michael, sold three books to the parents and grandparents of 22-month-old Peter Cruz, who can be seen below trying to decide which books – all almost bigger than he is – he wanted. Eventually, he chose the Giant Book of Nursery Rhymes, Dinosaurs, and a Christmas book.

Twenty-two month old Peter Cruz opens his arms wide to grasp one of his new coloring books. Proceeds from the annual book sale go to charities supported by the New York branch of the Knights of Pythias.

As explained to me by Mr. Shink, the Knights of Pythias are a fraternal order with a focus on charity work and community service. The international order was founded in 1864 by a Justus Rathbone with the true friendship of Greek Damon and Pythias in mind. According to their website, they are dedicated to the cause of universal peace. And unlike other fraternal orders, they are non-denominational.

I find this all fascinating as my childhood full of immersion in mythology, fairy tales, folklore and historical stories set in “ancient times” reminiscent of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance left buzz words like “knights” and “fraternal” associatively-linked in my mind. I love and am so grateful for organizations that exist solely to contribute to society and help others via service, no other strings attached (college fraternities and sororities come to mind).

So this year, my Christmas wish (for whatever it is worth) is to have each and every person who reads this take part in a good deed on a regular basis. Feelings of friendship, loyalty and community are hard to come by these days, but economic hardship tends to bring out the good in people, so have at it, friends!

Kids line-up to receive their gift bags from Santa Claus.

The Caribbean American Center of New York spread Holiday Cheer with gifts for over 100 New York’s needy children at its 11^th annual Christmas Holiday Celebration on December 5 at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

“I grew up in poverty and I understand what it means when others make your holidays special,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who spoke at the event. “So it’s almost like it is me. I know the way they feel because I felt that way.”

The Christmas gift bags handed out to the kids at the party.

CACNY Board Members and volunteers prepared 150 of the 4,000 gift bags given at the event with new toys, clothes, books and other items. All the gifts will be distributed before Dec. 23 to disadvantaged children who live in more than 22 homeless shelters in Brooklyn, Queens and Harlem.

“It’s a lot, a lot of work to put this together,” said Jean P. Alexander, executive director of CACNY, “but it is so satisfying to see the kids.”

CACNY will host two more holiday parties to get Santa Claus to continue to help distribute some of the remaining gifts.

“I feel good because it is something minor, but to see the smile on their face is like wow,” said Tiffany Williams, 24, a volunteer from Bed-Stuyvesant.

Miss Brooklyn 2008 Cherelle Gaines, 22, and Miss Brooklyn's Outstanding Teen 2008 KeyAna Williams, 13.

Volunteer Sheila Singleton, whose organization Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. helped to prepare the gifts for the first time, said she was excited to have her Soros participate help children in need.

“We said we will all come down here to help, it is not a problem, you know, it is all Brooklyn,” Singleton said.

Borough President Marty Markowitz addresses the kids at the Caribbean American Center of New York holiday party.

Markowitz ended his remarks with some inspirational advice to the kids.

“In America, you can fly as high as Barack Obama,” Markowitz said, “or you can fly a little lower like Marty Markowitz, but your ability to fly depends upon you. Enjoy your Christmas and enjoy your presents.” 

Finally the New York Times has published what psychologists have long known to be true: forcing kids to clean their plates ISN’T going to make them like new foods.

Nowadays parents seem to subscribe to one of two camps: the you’re-not-leaving-the-table-til-that-plate’s-clean group or the one where parents buy every imaginable sugary, chocolaty substitute for vegetables in a last-resort attempt at getting their picky kids to eat something.  Anything.

With the nation’s childhood obesity statistics rising at a staggering rate, something must be done about parents who lack the proper training in how to teach their children healthy eating habits.

One of the six mistakes parents make, says the NY Times, is making certain foods off limits.  Basically if you tell kids they can’t eat something, they want it more and will binge on the food when they do get access.  I can personally vouch for this one.  My mom adamantly opposed that classically-chemical, Kraft Mac & Cheese that most kids I knew ate from time to time when they had a babysitter.  And Kool-Aid?  Forget about it.  That was strictly forbidden.

Not surprisingly, as soon as I went to college and had total control of my diet, I went CRAZY with those two products.  I ate Mac & Cheese almost every night (in addition to dinner) and drank multiple pitchers of Kool-Aid everyday.  When that got boring I started eating spoonfuls of Kool-Aid drink mix, not even bothering to mix it with water.

Gross, right?  I know.  The most shocking thing is that I’m an adventurous eater who loves vegetables and whole wheat grains.  It wasn’t that my mom failed to introduce me to nutritious foods, but rather that she made the bad ones so appealing I couldn’t resist them.  I gained 30 pounds freshman year without drinking beer.  How’s that for disgusting?

Another major threat to childhood healthy eating is school lunches.  You know what I’m talking about.  Potatoes galore (often fried), greasy pizza (without vegetable toppings) and chocolate milk at every meal.  Yes, there are vegetables, but they’re generally way overcooked and rarely served in an appetizing manner.  As adults we know that salads are more fun when jazzed up with cheese cubes or dried fruit, but school kids are expected to eagerly consume steamed carrots and peas sans spices or garnish.

So, what can we do to fix this nutrition nightmare?  For one thing, we can use research findings to inform our parenting styles, rather than traditions passed down from the Depression era.  Also, we can get involved in community organizations like the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food that work to make positive changes.  Do it.  New York City kids need your help. ]]> http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/interactivefundamentals/2008/09/18/no-more-clean-plates/feed/ 0