Let’s Move is a campaign started by Mrs. Obama two years ago to promote healthy living amongst our nation’s kids. It is a program that was made to solve the problem of childhood obesity. The Let’s Move campaign has ‘provided children with healthier food and greater opportunities for physical activity in schools and communities, helped get families the information they need to make healthier decisions, supported a healthy start in early childhood, and have worked to ensure more people have access to healthy, affordable food.’

The Let’s Move website has many useful tools including, food pyramids, portion recommendations, tools for child care providers and day care centers to help the youngest children get off to a healthy start, resources for parents, and much more.

The first lady has chosen Des Moines as the kick-off location for a three-day national tour promoting the Let’s Move campaign. Thousands of central Iowa elementary and middle school students will descend upon Wells Fargo Arena to participate in this 2^nd anniversary event. Mrs. Obama is scheduled to speak to the crowd at 11:00 a.m. Local acts will perform for the crowd. There will also be some local and national celebrities including: Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper, ISU basketball coach Fred Hoiberg, figure skater Michelle Kwan, WNBA player Tamika Catchings, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, and gold-medal gymnast Shawn Johnson. Organizers have said more celebrities could be added.

Des Moines University has recently implemented a new Vision statement. I believe this event fits perfectly with the vision’s main points which include: education, leadership, wellness, and community. We get many opportunities to volunteer here at DMU, but I feel this one is very unique. Our students and employees are getting a chance to come together as one body and represent DMU in one of the best ways they know how: by giving back to our community and volunteering for an event that will hopefully have a positive effect on the future of our children.

This year’s Mini Medical School begins this evening and runs for the five consecutive Tuesdays following. (February 7 – March 6, 2012)

The theme this year is all about becoming the healthiest you possible. You will learn how to do this through the five keys to living a happier, healthier life.

1. The 10 Pillars of Healthy Aging
2. Stress Management Techniques
3. Improve Your Physical Health
4. Enhance Your Emotional Well-Being
5. Establish Good Nutrition Habits

Register online or you can just sign up and purchase your tickets tonight before the talk.

One of the ways Des Moines area residents kick off Black History Month is with the hugely popular African-American festival I’ll Make Me a World in Iowa. The first year for this event was 1999 with 1,000 people in attendance. The popularity has grown over the years and numbers have soared with this year’s totals expected to be between 15,000 and 20,000 attendees.

This FREE, family-friendly event takes place this Saturday, January 28, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Polk County Convention Center. Many local acts and groups will be performing. This is a great way to get to know some of them.

Des Moines University has been a sponsor of this event for the past several years. We are proud to say that, once again, students and faculty will be on hand to perform free health screenings including blood pressure, body fat percentage, and cholesterol/glucose readings. Screenings will be done from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A highlight this year is that DMU President Angela Walker Franklin, Ph.D., will be featured as a community leader and will introduce one of the headliners for the event. The IMMAWII crew always does a great job of securing nationally known figures for headliners, but this year I think they’ve outdone themselves! Kenny Lattimore, the top-40 R&B recording artist, is the featured musician, and Shemar Moore, best know for his roles in “The Young & the Restless” and “Criminal Minds,” will be the featured speaker.

Organizers of the event stress that this is really a community celebration and not just an African-American celebration. There are family-friendly activities as well as information booths on various topics. New this year is the Empower Energy Conservation Challenge. This challenge focuses on ways to conserve energy and save money, all while increasing awareness of these practices within the African-American community.

I have lived in this area my entire life, 30 minutes west of Des Moines in the small town of Stuart. 2012 will be my first year attending the IMMAWII celebration. I can hardly wait to share this great event with my seven-year-old daughter. As the mother and stepmother of biracial children, I am highly aware that diversity in the Des Moines area is less prevalent than it is in some of the bigger metropolitan areas. I look forward to taking my family to any event that showcases that part of their heritage and history. See you there!

Instead of snuggling up to your books in the library, how about you take a few hours to indulge yourself with artisan cheeses, delectable chocolates and some fabulous wines from around the world. Enjoy live musical entertainment by Jason Walsmith of The Nadas as you browse the galleries of West End Architectural Salvage. Here are the details:

WHEN
5 – 9 pm
Saturday, January 21, 2012

WHERE
West End Architectural Salvage
22 9th Street (corner of 9th & Cherry)
Des Moines, Iowa

TICKET PRICE
$15.00 in advance (Buy Now) or $20.00 at door

Admission includes:
Unlimited samplings of wines, cheeses, and chocolates
Commemorative wine glass
Live musical entertainment

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Des Moines University campus and clinic is closed today.

DMU alum Dr. William Anderson, who will be on campus tomorrow to speak about his experiences, actually worked alongside the man we honor today. Read more about some of Dr. Anderson’s work.

We hope you can join us tomorrow for this very special event.

On Monday, January 16, Dr. Anderson will be the keynote speaker for the 23rd annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. State of Iowa Celebration, sponsored by the Iowa Department of Human Rights’ Office on the Status of African Americans. The free event, which will begin at 10:45 a.m. in the Iowa Historical Building, 600 East Grand Avenue in Des Moines, also will feature Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, past president of Des Moines University; the Special MLK Choir; and the awarding of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award.

Then on Tuesday, January 17, Dr. Anderson will speak at DMU’s MLK Jr. Day Celebration, noon to 1 p.m. in the Student Education Center Auditorium on campus.

We’re honored to have this distinguished alumnus in our midst. As founder and first president of the Albany Movement, which spearheaded the civil rights movement in Southwest Georgia, Dr. Anderson and his late wife, Norma, marched with Dr. King and others to gain the rights denied to African Americans in the early 1960s. Working in medicine when both black people and osteopathic physicians faced discrimination, Dr. Anderson rose to the highest pinnacle in his field. He was the first black president of the American Osteopathic Association and the first African American to be certified by the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons. Among his many honors is the AOA Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Anderson has also served his medical alma mater. He was a member of the DMU Board of Trustees for more than 20 years and received the University’s Pioneer Award in Osteopathic Medicine and Public Service in 2009. He currently is senior advisor to the dean of the Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine and vice president of academic affairs, osteopathic medical education. within the Detroit Medical Center.

Some historical perspective gives context to Dr. Anderson’s many achievements. In his first medical practice in Albany, Georgia – located upstairs from a pool hall and liquor store – he served as many as 100 patients a day and made house calls at night, including to homes without electricity. On occasion he delivered babies by driving his car up to a house’s window with its headlights on to allow him to see. When he and his mentor, DMU graduate William Reese Jr., D.O., became the first African American physicians to attend the George Osteopathic Medical Association’s annual convention in 1959, the hotel refused to provide them rooms, instead arranging for them to stay at the home of the chief bellman (also black).

With all that he’s overcome and accomplished, though, Dr. Anderson is one of those delightful people who doesn’t take himself too seriously. His talks next week are guaranteed to provoke both serious discussion and laughter. Don’t miss the chance to meet this true pioneer!

‘Twas the last weekend before Christmas and all through DMU, students were stirring, in search of something to do…

Tomorrow is the last day before a long (and I’m sure, much needed) Winter Break, but there are still a ton of fun things to do this weekend if you are sticking around Des Moines.

Strap on your skates and go for a spin around the rink at the Brenton Skating Plaza. Open all weekend, Friday, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m., Sunday, 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Enjoy the twinkling lights from the comfort and warmth of your own car at Jolly Holiday Lights in Waterworks Park. Every day from 5:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Preemptively work off some of those holiday treats at the 4th annual Jingle Jog at Gray’s Lake, Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m.

Dance with sugar plum fairies at The Nutcracker at the Civic Center, Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.

This year businesses are competing in the first annual Winter Wonderland Holiday Promenade Window Decorating Contest. Enjoy this charming district in downtown Des Moines while perusing beautiful window displays, riding a horse drawn carriage, sipping on refreshments offered by area businesses, tasting a meal at an nearby restaurant, or listening to holiday music floating through the air. The Historic East Village and Promenade Sponsors will provide bags featuring samples and special offers, plus a shopping and dining map and ballot for Viewer’s Choice Best Window. Pick up your bag at Brenton Plaza, Baby Boomer’s or The LifeServe Blood Center while supplies last.

So head on down to the East Village and get a start on your holiday shopping!