Chevron, Boys & Girls Clubs open STEAM labs for hand-on learning

Courtesy of WLOX News

Staying Physically Healthy & Active During COVID-19

Article from National Organization (https://www.bgca.org/news-stories/2020/April/Staying-Physically-Healthy-and-Active-During-COVID-19)

With many gyms, parks and recreation centers closed, we know it may be difficult to keep kids physically active while the nation works to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Regular physical activity is important for both our physical and mental well-being. The World Health Organization recommends children and youth aged 5–17 engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily. The following are some tips on how to keep kids active and reduce sedentary behavior while at home, with no special equipment and with limited space. ‘Sports Live On’ Although many sports leagues have been cancelled, kids can take a cue from our friends over at Buffalo Wild Wings and show off their athletic skills while practicing social distancing. Join the #SportsLiveOn challenge and have kids practice their favorite sport in a clever and unique way. Perfect the jump shot with trash can basketball, improve dribbling skills with toilet paper, or set up putt-putt golf in the backyard! Take a look at this video for some cool ideas and motivation to keep sports alive, while staying at home.  Planet Fitness Home Work-Ins Just because your gym is closed, doesn’t mean you can’t still attend a workout class!  Our friends over at Planet Fitness are offering free, live-streamed workout videos every day.  The workouts change daily, and so do the instructors. Tune in daily, and you might even be lucky enough to have a class led by a celebrity! Tune in on Facebook. 100 Challenge A simple one to get started – 100 reps of this one exercise.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and up in the air, your knees and hips forming 90-degree angles.

2. Reach your arms straight up to the sky

3. As you reach your arms back down to the floor, lift your head and roll up with your shoulder blades just off the floor.

4. Move your arms up and down as if you’re slapping the floor – and start counting!

For more 100 abs check out the100 Ab ChallengefromBlogilates! Every day for 30 days you do 100 reps of a different ab exercise every day for 30 days. You can also break each exercise into smaller sets throughout the day!

How High Can You Go 

This is a great outside option, and simple enough for the youngest of kids too! (But maybe pass on this one if you have downstairs neighbors)

1. 5 high jumps (jump as high as you can!)

2. 5 broad jumps (jump as far as you can!)

Repeat for 10 rounds, or 10 minutes (whichever comes first). For more body weight workouts and how-to videos,click here.

The Fast and the Furious

A four minute (yes, FOUR minute) high-intensity interval workout. It alternates 20 second bursts of working out as hard as you can with a quick 10 second rest to build cardiovascular fitness AND muscle.

Here’s one workout to get you started (and an online timer designed specifically for it):

1. Do as many jumping jacks as you can for 20 seconds

2. Rest for 10 seconds

3. Complete 8 rounds

For a longer workout,try this video. And here’sanother good bodyweight High Intensity workout.

Circuit Run

Social distancing doesn’t mean distancing yourself from outside! If you are able to be outside without being too close to others, try this run/walk workout that totals up to 20 minutes:

1. Walk for 5 minutes to warm up

2. Then do 6 rounds of:

   1. Run 1 minute

   2. Walk 1 ½ minutes

For more, try the Couch 2 5K program! The program alternates walking with short bits of running to build up to running a full 5k in 9 weeks. The UK’s National Health System has the program written out, an app, training tips, and podcasts for each workout! Physical activity and relaxation techniques can be valuable tools to help you and your family remain calm and continue to protect your health during this time.

Learn more about how Boys & Girls Clubs are helping with the COVID-19 crisis.

Comcast Opens Access to Internet Essentials For Families

Article from National Organization (https://www.bgca.org/news-stories/2020/March/Comcast-Opens-Access-to-Internet-Essentials-For-Families)

Comcast NBCUniversal is a national partner for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Please find a message from Comcast below sharing access to their Internet Essentials program, the nation’s largest broadband program for low-income Americans: As our country continues to manage the COVID-19 emergency, we recognize that our company plays an important role in helping our customers stay connected – to their families, their workplaces, their schools, and the latest information about the virus – through the Internet.   Comcast also knows that for millions of low-income Americans who don’t have Internet service at home, this uncertain time is going to be even more difficult to manage.  As schools and businesses close and families are encouraged, or even mandated, to stay home, Internet connectivity becomes even more important.  At Comcast, we’ve been looking for ways to help through our Internet Essentials program, which is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program for low-income Americans.  Since 2011, it has connected millions of individuals to the Internet.  A hallmark of this program has been our flexibility in adjusting Internet Essentials to meet the needs of low-income residents in our footprint.  So, effective Monday March 16, 2020, we are putting in place two substantial program enhancements to help these families deal with this crisis. 

1. We will make it even easier for low-income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign up by offering new customers 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month.   

1. Also, we are increasing Internet speeds for the Internet Essentials service from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps for all new and existing customers, which will be the speed of the service going forward.  In this way, we will ensure that Internet Essentials customers will be able to use their Internet service for all their increased needs as a result of this health crisis. 

We want to make it as fast and simple as possible to access this service:    

• To receive the increased Internet speeds, existing customers will not need to do anything.  The new speeds will be rolled out nationally over the next few days.

• We’ll send all new customers a free self-install kit that includes a cable modem with a Wi-Fi router.  There will be no term contract or credit check and no shipping fee. 

• To sign up, applicants can simply visit www.internetessentials.com.  The accessible website also includes the option to video chat with customer service agents in American Sign Language.  There are also two dedicated phone numbers 1-855-846-8376 for English and  1-855-765-6995 for Spanish. 

Our hope is that broader access and faster speeds will help all of our Internet Essentials customers more easily work from home, access educational resources, obtain important government health care alerts, and stay in contact with their families during this difficult time.