amy@5healthytowns.org
Ms. Heydlauff is the Executive Director for the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation. She has served on the Chelsea Education Foundation and is the current chair of the American Legal Nurse Consulting Certification Board. Amy’s commitment to personal wellness includes incorporating simple, healthy decisions into her daily activities.
Friday, May 11th, 2012
This morning I watched CSPAN & a man from the Institute of Medicine’s Food & Nutrition Committee was talking about the state of our nation’s health. They are partners in the production & release of the HBO series The Weight of the Nation. I plan to watch it & I hope many of you will too.
I beg you not to focus on one or two issues that may be contributing to our nations fattening. Some people are quick to blame agribusiness or fast food restaurants. Others are certain it’s all about personal responsibility. You could focus on decreasing physical education in schools, increasing screen time or some other individual point.
It’s a complicated issue, folks. The causes aren’t simple & there certainly aren’t one or two solutions. The causes of overweight & obesity (as well as solutions) are different for everyone and region to region. Once again, I am pleading with our 5 healthy towns: don’t get sucked into these national debates. Let’s just look at what’s going on in our own hearts & minds and in our local communities. If we focus on our personal & local needs & solutions we can make a difference because we want to feel better, live better & see our children thrive.
See our recent facebook post for a link to the HBO series.
Monday, April 23rd, 2012
By now you must know the CWF wants our communities to connect with each other in healthy ways. Here is a quick story of one of our communities found a terrific way to make that happen.
It’s called Chelsea Soup. A group of caring citizens get together, pay $5 or $10 dollars, bring a dish to pass & listen to presentations from a few local charities.
After the presentations (& no doubt a tasty, healthy meal) they mark their ballots in favor of their favorite charity. The organization with the most votes takes home the cash.
This approach is like the adage of many pieces being required to make a quilt; the body having many parts, each with a special purpose; & of course, the many flavors required to make good soup.
Connecting – it’s all about connecting.
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Childhood obesity is a term that’s tossed around now-a-days, like “Duh!” was 10 years ago.
Yet behind this 2 word phrase are real children. And the vast majority of these real children have parents whose heart breaks when they think of the implication of their child’s weight.
It’s easy to say “Well, whose fault is it if not the parents?”
A critic could be say the same thing about those of us whose kids ‘won’t’ do their homework, have temper tantrums in public, ‘refuse’ to wear appropriate clothing or ‘ignore’ the curfew their parents lay down. Very few of us finish our active parenting career without one or more of these issues arising.
If we cut parents some slack & acknowledge parenting is a complicated business, families fighting obesity may get excited about being part of the solution – their own & our community’s.
Monday, March 19th, 2012
1. Matt LaFontaine started a Dexter Relief Fund at the Dexter Branch of Chelsea State Bank
2. The Dexter Wellness Coalition is hosting a Community Walk on Saturday
3. Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation is going to donate $20 to the Dexter Relief Fund for each adult walker who completes the walk on Saturday
The walk will begin at 10:00 am from the Dexter District Library, 3255 Alpine Street. The Library is located on Mill Creek. This is an opportunity for anyone in our 5 healthy towns who hasn’t been sure how to support our friends in Dexter. Depending on your route, you could see the newly completed path along the creek. Everyone will get to connect with others and get some exercise.
No registration is required. You have your choice of a 2 or 3 mile walk and dogs are welcome.
Join us on Saturday at 10:00 in Dexter. Bring a friend!
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012
Only 6% of kids in Western Washtenaw County walk to school at least once a week.
We just attended a webinar about kids walking to school in the winter. The presenter suggested walking to school is less demanding than other things kids do in the winter, like sledding or snowshoeing.
He kept saying “It’s not as tough as you think it is.”
That got me to wondering – do we think it’s hard for kids to walk to school in the winter? If so, what makes it hard? Can we overcome these challenges?
Can we begin to think walking to school is an extension of a good school day?
Monday, February 20th, 2012
All of a sudden I’m hearing about the 100 Women Who Care clubs around Michigan. The idea is sweeping through the state like wildfire.
If you missed it, imagine this: 100 (or so) people come together, vote on one non-profit organization they want to support, that day, and then everyone donates $100.
If you’re the only one to write a check for $100 you wonder how much of a difference you’re making. If 100 people write the same check at the same time you send some do-gooding organization $10,000!
And, it could be 200 people who care & checks for $25. Or 100 people who care & checks for $1000. If you organize it you can make up your own rules. I love innovation!
What a great way to connect with others in a healthy way.
Monday, February 13th, 2012
Day in & day out our real life gets in the way of making good food choices.
Enter the Clementine. In about 15 seconds this little, portable, dynamo of a fruit is peeled & sections are popping into your mouth.
According to one nutrition fact source, a Clementine has 35 calories (virtually none from fat), 60% of our daily requirement for vitamin C & even a little calcium and iron. It provides fiber, thiamin & potassium.
Now is the time to buy them, too. So buy a box & set them on a refrigerator shelf where everyone can see them. The Clementine will take care of the rest.
Friday, January 20th, 2012
Matt Pegouskie, who works for the CWF, pulled together a map of all the existing and proposed non-motorized trails in our service area (Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester & Stockbridge).
He pulled this information together because a few of our board members dream of a time when you can walk or bike between all 5 of our communities. It’s a grand goal and one we anticipate would take decades to complete if we get started now. But guess what. The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation will be here for decades! So if the communities are interested enough to champion these connections, the CWF will help find funding.
Here’s the link to Matt’s map. You’ll have to copy it & paste it in your browser. The whole map won’t be on your screen so scroll around. The existing trails are primarily to the north (yellow lines). Red are proposed trails & green are proposed with funding already identified.
http://explorer.arcgis.com/?open=6434df4801ae4b9ab6b9272c3d80ee56&extent=-9357208.28096267,5204296.8662955,-9341865.56356846,5213218.72860467
Monday, January 9th, 2012
What a weekend – warm & sunny. Did you walk, ride your bike or play touch football in the yard over the weekend? Maybe you shot baskets in the driveway with the kids? It’s not even muddy so we can take advantage of places like Waterloo Recreation paths, Hudson Mills, the Lakeland trail, the new Grass Lake Township trails & other local trails. The forecast is for several more days of unseasonably happy weather.
On top warm days, the nights have been cold enough, without snow, so our lakes are making smooth ice. We may get a good skating season this year! New skates are sooo much more comfortable than the ones we all have in a closet somewhere. And, they are on sale through L.L. Bean (www.llbean.com). There used to be a skate exchange in Ann Arbor. Is it still there? Of course, you should wait until the ice is more than 4 inches deep. It’s too soon & too warm to take chances.
Enjoy. It’s Michigan so we know it’s temporary!
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Our gift to you is a 4, short sentence blog.
And we’re blogging just so we can use this picture!
Tell the kids this is Santa in the off season. 
Healthy Holidays, everyone.
This morning I watched CSPAN & a man from the Institute of Medicine’s Food & Nutrition Committee was talking about the state of our nation’s health. They are partners in the production & release of the HBO series The Weight of the Nation. I plan to watch it & I hope many of you will too. 
