MENTORING PROGRAM     The Office of Minority Male Health is running a mentoring program at South Brandywine Middle School to inform adolescent minority males of health issues plaguing their race and to provide the young men with experiences that are designed to motivate them to maintain and improve their health. Mentors are drawn from the student body and administrative staff.  Thirty minority male students that the school identified as being at risk for academic failure and delinquency were asked to participate as protégés (mentees) in the project.  A kickoff celebration was held in November 2005 to match the mentors with their mentees (protégés).  The program activitis have included:  -Rap Sessions on personal and social responsibility, better school attendance andscholastic performance.  -Workshops on conflict resolution, the importance of fitness and nutrition and a workshop to discourage the use of alcohol and illegal drugs.  -Healthy Cooking Club –a weekly class where the students learn how to create healthy meals and the importance of eating fruits, vegetables and non-fried foods   The program will soon include Health and fitness activities (workshops, fitness assessments) for the protegees being considered for Summer 2006

MR. LU FITNESS    The OMMH conducted an effort to motivate male students to strengthen their muscular and cardiovascular systems and to educate them on fitness, nutrition, and exercise. There were thirty-two male undergraduates who completed applications, and out of these eighteen students usccesfully completed the eight-week program. The students reported loss of body fat and increased energy  They also said that they were pleased with the program and would recommend it to other students. The overall winner reported loss of 10% body fat.    The competitors competed in one of the following three categories: Mr. Transformer: overweight male students who want to lose body-fat Mr. Fitness: physically fit male students who can successfully perform several fitness tests             Mr. Athletic:  Male students that are already athletic and/or have a regular fitness regimen. The competitors then received points for attending health and/or fitness lectures and completing at least 5 out of 8 weekly individual workouts with the fitness trainer.  The winners of each category then competed for the overall title of “Mr. LU Fitness 2005”.      The competition will be held again during the Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 semesters.   A faculty/staff component may be added.

VIDEO AND HEALTH CAREER PROGRAM    The objective of this program is to provide adolescent and teenage Hispanic male students access to positive, enriching activities during out of school hours, helping them to reduce at-risk behaviors (gang involvement, alcohol abuse) while building personal, social and leadership skills.  Both programs began in October 2005 and will culminate in May 2006 Health/Careers Program This  program has attracted fourteen middle school participants to learn about medical and allied health careers in an effort to increase minority male interest and participation in those careers.  The program meets every Tuesday after school through May 2006.  The activities include:  -  Presentation by a Hispanic professor who has conducted research on problem drinking and drug use among local Mexican migrant workers  -Presentation by college recruiter that is a former gang member.  -Visits to a doctor’s office, a radiologist and to a professional soccer game. Video Production Program The goal of the program is to have students create public service announcements (PSA’s) aimed at Hispanics. It is conducted at Avon Grove High School, West Grove, PA.   Male participants learn the art of TV and video production and about the health disparities affecting the Hispanic community.  Plans are underway to target the broader Hispanic community by utilizing a range of multimedia resources to distribute the PSA’s (i.e. Spanish language television stations, radio stations and newsprint).     CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TOP THREE WINING VIDEOS