There's No Stopping Us Now

Join East Chattanooga Weed and Seed, MYTD, Orchard Knob Middle School and partners for There’s No Stopping Us Now! back-to-school event on Saturday, August 28, 2010 at Orchard Knob Middle School, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There’s No Stopping Us Now! is a daylong event designed to prepare students and their parents for a successful school year by providing educational information, developmental activities and a little entertainment. The free event is open to all school-age children, their parents and the community.

Educational Activities:

To help enhance students’ chances at academic success, a “How Do You Learn” assessment is being offered. This assessment will help students understand how they learn and find areas where they may need assistance. The information garnered from the assessment will be shared with parents and teachers so they will know how to work with the student to achieve greater learning and reduce the stress students feel when they are struggling with their schoolwork. The “How Do You Learn” assessment is used by the Hamilton County Department of Education.

Students will receive free backpacks filled with hygiene supplies and lunch boxes filled with books.

Educational activities are not limited to students. ReStart will provide information about earning a GED (General Education Development) to parents who wish to further their own education and increase their earning potential in the job market. The Chattanooga Brownfields Job Training Program has recently extended the deadline for their upcoming job training and will be on-site with information for parents who are looking to increase their job skills.

Physical Activities:

Several activities are planned to teach students about good sportsmanship and appropriate competitive behaviors. Students will compete against school officials and teachers, and their parents in sack races, basketball games and boxing matches with giant boxing gloves. There will also be a dunking tank offering students the chance to dunk OKMS principal, Maryo Beck. Monica Burke, program manager for Improving Health and Wellness in East Chattanooga, will lead low-impact exercise classes for students and parents.

Health Activities:

In addition to the physical activities offered, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department will host a booth with healthy eating and nutrition information. This information will be geared towards students and their nutritional needs as their bodies grow and develop. Activities include cooking demonstrations aimed at showing students and their parents that healthy cooking and eating can be fun and delicious.

Several health screenings will be provided at There’s No Stopping Us Now! Attendees will have the opportunity to have their blood pressure checked and receive free HIV testing. These services will be provided by Improving Health and Wellness in East Chattanooga, Erlanger’s Southside/Dodson Avenue Health Centers and Memorial Healthcare Systems. Total Health Chiropractic will offer spinal health screenings and tips for keeping students’ backs healthy while carrying their schoolbooks.

Other activities and vendors:

-- Virginia College – free haircuts and hairstyling for students to improve their self-esteem and self-image while also teaching them the importance of making a good impression

-- City of Chattanooga Traffic Engineering Department Driver’s Education Program

-- The Health and Law Enforcement Committees of East Chattanooga Weed and Seed/Eastside Taskforce

-- Chattanooga Fire Department Fire Education Prevention and Public Education Division with Sparky, a remote-controlled fire engine

-- Stop the Madness, Inc.

-- MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Driving

-- Parents are First Teachers

-- Chattanooga- Hamilton County Bicentennial Library – library card sign-up

-- United Way – 211 Information and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

-- Development Resource Center

Entertainment:

The entertainment portion of There’s No Stopping Us Now! starts at 2:30 p.m. and features local artists performing gospel, hip-hop gospel, gospel rap, and worship & praise music.

Performers include:

-- Tony Black

-- T-Ran

-- Kim Ruff

-- Harriet Tubman Express Divas

-- Reality Check

-- 2 Deep Within

-- Kimberly Thomas

-- Ternae Jordon Jr.

-- Ordained Praise

-- Marcellus Barnes and New Spirit

Activities will be held outside on the front lawn of Orchard Knob Middle School, 500 North Highland Park Avenue, Chattanooga. Parking is available in the school’s parking lot. For the students’ safety, North Highland Park Avenue in front of the school will be closed to through traffic.

There’s No Stopping Us Now! is a joint project presented by MYTD, East Chattanooga Weed and Seed, the Chattanooga Eastside Taskforce, Orchard Knob Middle School, Stop the Madness, Inc., On Point, A Better Tomorrow, Harriet Tubman Express, Jubilee, City of Chattanooga Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Chattanooga Police Department.

For more information, or to arrange an interview please contact Dana Kinamore, Youth Director, MYTD/ECWS, at 423-752-4449 extension 3 or dana@eastchattanoogaweedandseed.org.

MYTD (Multicultural Youth Training and Development) provides Youth Programming services for East Chattanooga Weed and Seed. Weed and Seed is a comprehensive strategy—not simply a program—to assist communities in bringing people and resources together to prevent and control crime and improve the overall quality of life. The Weed and Seed strategy stresses collaboration, coordination, and community participation.