 HealthStart Foundation is thrilled to partner with Austin Achieve Public Schools to bring our interactive health and science education to their students.
Achieve Public Schools provides high-quality education and educates, intending to implement and carry out high expectations. HealthStart Foundation is thrilled to partner in a shared passion for building a community of ambitious, healthy leaders. Achieve's carefully curated, safe, and nurturing environment balanced with leadership and high achievement values has paved the way to their success. Achieve sets up their students to be self-advocates and advocates for their communities. As a result, our children become health “change agents,” sharing what they learn with their families and influencing the community at large by changing how we eat, move, and live together. To thrive in education and beyond, kids need foundational skills to maintain their health and the class time to learn these skills. Achieve has implemented supplemental class time to create additional opportunities for kids to learn how to take responsibility for their well-being and their specific role in building a healthy community. Achieve is utilizing two of HealthStart's programs (Health Education for Youngsters and Snack Science Video Series) to set the foundation for lifelong nutritional, physical, and social, and emotional well-being with fun and engaging health-science lessons. Achieve implements these programs during school-time on Fridays and through enrichment camps during the fall and spring breaks. Our programs provide blueprints for good health through nutritious food and fitness choices, social and emotional understanding, and the environment. We are excited to see how our programs further promote the exceptional learning and critical thinking skills that Austin Achieve provides. Austin Achieve is excited to embark on HealthStart's tools to make teaching health education engaging and hassle-free. Working together, Achieve and HealthStart will create a nurturing environment for students to learn and thrive in.
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 After two years of virtual events, HealthStart will host its first in-person event since the pandemic. HealthStart Harvest will take place on September 15th, 2022, at 7 pm at Peached Social House in Austin, TX. HealthStart invites you to join us in celebrating our transformation and growth over these last couple of years. This is an excellent opportunity to reconnect with friends and make new ones while enjoying some delicious food and drinks, live entertainment, and an exciting raffle amongst community members passionate about the health and wellbeing of young children. We are honored to have one of the nations leading experts in the prevention of childhood obesity as our keynote speaker. Deanna M. Hoelscher is the Regional Dean of the UTHealth School of Public Health in Austin and Founding Director of the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living. Dr. Hoelscher’s research interests include empowering children and their families to engage in healthier dietary and physical activity behaviors to prevent chronic disease, with an emphasis on addressing health disparities in diverse, historically underserved populations. Dr. Hoelscher has received multiple federal and foundation grants, over 200 peer-reviewed publications, and numerous research, teaching, and mentoring awards. One of her current roles is the principal investigator of the Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition survey to monitor the prevalence of obesity in school-aged children, and the STREETS project, an NIH-funded natural experiment to determine the effects of Safe Routes to School policies on child physical activity. She has also held leadership positions in The Obesity Society, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. HealthStart is excited to share our latest achievements and goals for the future. We are looking forward to seeing you there! To purchase tickets, visit www.bit.ly/harvesttickets 
HealthStart is currently hiring for the following positions:
To Apply: Please email your cover letter and resume to javier@healthstartfoundation.org HealthStart was named a Hispanic Impact Fund finalist and grantee for 2022 in Health & Wellness. We received $10,000 to help expand our community partnerships, allowing us to reach more young children in Central Texas.
The Hispanic Impact Fund is a program of the Austin Community Foundation. In Health & Wellness, the Fund invests in organizations that provide preventative, culturally competent health education and access to quality mental and physical health services. Austin Community Foundation established the Hispanic Impact Fund in 2017 to support Latino families' economic security and advancement in Central Texas. By leveraging the assets, resilience, and strength of our Latino community, they’re investing in the potential of future leaders. Latinos make up 43% of the total youth population in Central Texas. This demographic faces a disproportionate number of challenges to good health outcomes. HealthStart recognizes the systemic inequities that exist in the Latino community; thus, our programming focuses on removing barriers to success for these children. An example is our Children’s Health Education Workshop Series (CHEWS) which brings positive change with a structured, engaging, and approachable series of workshops for kids and their families. Through culturally appropriate and accessible resources, children are empowered to assume responsibility for their health, and families are also positively impacted, ultimately enabling healthier communities overall. Support from the Hispanic Impact Fund will assist HealthStart in expanding services to more communities in Central Texas that are historically underserved and predominantly Latino populations. “We are honored to receive this grant from the Hispanic Impact Fund. It demonstrates a vote of confidence in our organization with this financial investment. We also appreciate the additional exposure HealthStart receives from such recognition,” said Javier Valdez, Executive Director HealthStart Foundation. Thank you, Austin Community Foundation and Hispanic Impact Fund. As a grant partner, we’ll be able to help more Latino children create a healthier future. We have partnered with El Buen Samaritano to bring our early childhood health education resources to their students and families. They will utilize HealthStart's Health Education For Youngsters Curriculum (HEY), Snack Science Video Series (Mordidas de Ciencia), and Children's Health Education Workshop Series (CHEWS) with their students during their after-school time, cooking club, and parent nights to strengthen family engagement and encourage healthy behaviors at home. El Buen Samaritano is a local outreach ministry serving the Latino community of Central Texas. They are committed to recognizing the dignity of all by ensuring access to healthcare, education, and essential needs that lead to healthy, productive, and secure lives. Through their Family and Health Literacy programming, El Buen provides education, child and adolescent development, and health literacy. These services are provided by bilingual, bicultural staff, including community health workers (CHWs), volunteers, and health and social service practitioners. The first implementation of HealthStart’s CHEWS during their cooking club was a success. "Getting to give the kids more of the “why” aspect on how food works seemed to get them more excited about getting to cook." - Fernanda Rivera, Lead Youth Development Coordinator El Buen and HealthStart are dedicated to educating young children to improve their academics, physical activity, nutrition, and social and emotional wellbeing. HealthStart is excited to work with El Buen to impact the lives of many Latino families here in Central Texas. HealthStart Foundation y El Buen Samaritano se asocian para mejorar la salud de la comunidad Latina en Austin.
Nosotros nos asociamos con El Buen Samaritano para compartir nuestros programas de ciencia y salud para los niños y familias de El Buen. El Buen va a utilizar nuestro plan de estudios (HEY! Curriculum), Mordidas de Ciencia - una serie de videos, y nuestros talleres de educación para niños de salud (CHEWS) durante el tiempo de apoyo academico, clubs de viernes, y noches de padres para fortalecer el compromiso familiar y fomentar comportamientos saludables en el hogar. El Buen Samaritanoelbuen.org/ es una organizacion sin ánimo de lucro que ayuda a la comunidad Latina del centro de Texas. Ellos estan comprometidos a reconocer la dignidad de todos y garantizando el acceso a la atencion medica, educacion, y necesidades esenciales que conducen a una vida sana, productiva, y segura. A través de su programa de alfabetización familiar y de salud, El Buen provee educacion, desarrollo infantil y adolescente, y alfabetización en salud. Estos servicios son proporcionados por personal bilingue incluyendo trabajadores comunitarios de la salud y voluntarios. La primera implementacion de nuestro taller para niños (CHEWS) durante el club de viernes fue un gran exito! “Teniendo la oportunidad de hacer los niños entender el “porque” de como trabaja la comida con nuestros cuerpos les causo mas emocion de aprender como cocinar.” dijo la coordinadora principal de desarrollo juvenil, Fernanda Rivera. El Buen y HealthStart están dedicados a educar a los niños para mejorar sus estudios, actividad fisica, nutrición, y el bienestar social y emocional. HealthStart esta emocionado de poder trabajar con El Buen para tener un impacto positivo en las familias latinas del centro de Texas.  Foundation Communities and HealthStart Foundation have partnered to bring free health and science education to their residents and neighbors. They will be utilizing HealthStart's Children's Health Education Workshop Series (CHEWS) at two of their Austin and Fort Worth locations.
Both locations will be utilizing CHEWS with their students during after-school time. This CHEWS interactive workshop teaches children how their body systems work and the food and fitness activities they need to stay healthy and support social and emotional well-being. Lessons expose children to new foods or foods prepared in different ways to increase the variety of food they consume and their willingness to try fresh new foods in the future. Foundation Communities is a local nonprofit that provides affordable homes and free on-site support services for thousands of families with kids and veterans, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. They are committed to improving the well-being of their residents by providing health programming right where they live and eliminating the barriers of transportation, cost, and childcare. This partnership comes at a critical time as the national obesity rate increased from 19 to 22% during the Covid-19 pandemic. Both Foundation Communities sites have had a successful launch of the program. HealthStart is looking forward to building upon this great start with Foundation Communities and improving Texas children's health. Learn more about HealthStart's CHEWS program. Austin Marathon Gives names HealthStart Foundation an Official Charity for 2022 Austin Marathon11/19/2021  Austin Marathon Gives has named HealthStart Foundation one of its 2022 Austin Marathon official charities. This unique program connects non-profit organizations to passionate race participants and community members willing to fundraise and raise awareness for causes that give back to our local community. This will be HealthStart's 6th year as an official partner of Austin Marathon Gives.
From now until race day on February 20th, 2022, HealthStart will be raising funds with the help of #TeamHealthStart to make a real difference in the lives of young children and their families. With childhood obesity and early onset chronic diseases at all time highs due to the pandemic, teaching young children how their food and fitness choices affects their health is critically important. HealthStart is using the Austin Marathon to launch 20 in '22, a year-long fundraising campaign with the goal of serving 20 new schools and community partners in 2022. This comes at a critical turning point for the organization as in-person engagements begin to return and the demand for quality health education rises from the effects seen from the pandemic. Community members can get involved by joining #TeamHealthStart to make a real difference in the lives of young children and their families. Visit our Austin Marathon event page to learn how you can join #TeamHealthStart. For any questions about getting involved, contact Sharon Robinson at sharon@healthstartfoundation.org.  HealthStart Foundation is thrilled to partner with IDEA Public Schools to bring our interactive health and science education to their students at their new Health Professions campus. IDEA Public Schools and HealthStart share the same passion for health and our kids. They recognize that the roots of academic success are more profound than classroom learning alone. To succeed in education and beyond, kids need the foundational skills necessary to maintain their health. It starts with understanding their responsibility for their wellbeing and their role in building a healthy community. IDEA is excited to get started with HealthStart's tools that make teaching health education fun and easy to do. HealthStart’s programs align with the Texas Education Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) health and science standards for Pre-K to 2nd-Grade, making integration for educators effortless. Plus, our resources accommodate remote learning and engage parents with materials in English and Spanish. IDEA is utilizing two of HealthStart's programs (Snack Science Video Series and Health Education Youngsters Curriculum) to set the foundation for lifelong nutritional, physical, and social, and emotional wellbeing with fun and engaging health-science lessons. Our programs provide blueprints for good health through nutritious food and fitness choices and the tools for taking care of one another and the environment. "I am thrilled to be expanding our services into the IDEA Public School system. Their Health Professions campus is ideally suited for the beginning of what we anticipate to be a long and growing partnership between our two organizations," said HealthStart's Executive Director, Javier Valdez We are excited to partner with IDEA Public Schools to teach more children the “WHY” behind good health.
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 | Marissa has always had a passion for serving her community. She understands what a nonprofit needs to succeed and brings her vast nonprofit and legal experience to HealthStart's Board of Directors. "Being healthy promotes good mental, physical, and social health. Therefore, providing a child with information about health at an early age will create the foundation they need to be an overall healthy individual and member of society." |
 | With over 30 years of experience in the school system, Lucio brings his expertise in education and administration and his passion for children to HealthStart's Board of Directors. "I chose to join the HealthStart BOD because the mission of HealthStart falls in line with my interest in service to my country and community by serving our most precious and priceless resource, our children. I truly believe we cannot invest enough resources and time to raising healthy, thoughtful, and intelligent children who will become citizens. " |
Visit our website to learn more about Marissa, Lucio, and the rest of our Board of Directors.
HealthStart is 1 of 26 charities chosen to be a part of The Austin Marathon’s charity program, Austin Marathon Gives. This awesome program connects non-profit organizations to passionate race participants and community members willing to fundraise and raise awareness for causes that give back to our local community. The Austin Marathon will be held on April 25th, 2021 with virtual running options.
With a swift transition to virtual learning, HealthStart has had to make significant changes to continue supporting children and their families how they need us most. This year we are raising funds to continue digitizing our programming to benefit families in the community who may not have access to other disease prevention and mental health resources, especially during times of remote learning.
How can you get involved? Join #TeamHealthStart and...
Every dollar raised will be generously matched by The Moody Foundation (up to $10,000).
Join #TeamHealthStart and make twice the impact give children the tools to form smart health habits, creating a strong foundation for lifelong well-being.
With a swift transition to virtual learning, HealthStart has had to make significant changes to continue supporting children and their families how they need us most. This year we are raising funds to continue digitizing our programming to benefit families in the community who may not have access to other disease prevention and mental health resources, especially during times of remote learning.
How can you get involved? Join #TeamHealthStart and...
- Be a HEALTHSTART CHAMPION – Join #TeamHealthStart and select "Run for Charity" to set up a personal fundraising page and help raise funds on HealthStart’s behalf between now and race day. (April 25th, 2021)
- DONATE – Give a gift of any amount directly at [add link for your personal fundraising page]
- SHARE – Share #TeamHealthStart campaign page with friends and family or on social media using the hashtag #TeamHealthStart
- RUN – Plan to run? Just choose #TeamHealthStart at checkout upon registering to run the 5k, half marathon, or full marathon on April 25th, 2021 (virtual options available).
Every dollar raised will be generously matched by The Moody Foundation (up to $10,000).
Join #TeamHealthStart and make twice the impact give children the tools to form smart health habits, creating a strong foundation for lifelong well-being.
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