Elevation Award Recipient, The Brown and Healthy K.I.D.S. (Kindness, Intelligence, Determination, Strength)

The Brown and Healthy K.I.D.S. initiative will partner with Baltimore City public schools and community youth programs in West Baltimore to provide mental, physical, and emotional health and wellness programming once a week for at least eight sessions. Brown and Healthy K.I.D.S. program participants will not only learn about health, but also learn how to apply digital strategies and media principles to create positive stories that are strengths-based, share those stories, and promote wellness among their peers, families, and communities. The goal is to 'Redefine the 410' by creating an inclusive narrative of health using social media activities, that most youth already participate in daily, as vehicles for social change. Creating health-promoting memes and short videos that are easily and quickly shared, we believe, are extremely effective ways to engage young people and shift the typical health and wellness narrative surrounding brown people locally, nationally, and internationally. Program participants will also connect with health professionals of color, such as personal trainers, health educators, and wellness practitioners. Connecting youth to health professionals that look like them creates mentorship opportunities and serves as real-life examples that health and careers in health are inclusive of brown people.