NNB News

Participants in a group exercise class in Midtown.

St. Petersburg–Non-profits in Midtown aim to give the African-American community the tools women, men and children need to succeed through mentoring, health classes and fitness programs. While the James B. Sanderlin Center and Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center are the two main focal points of these efforts, programs and services are spread throughout south St. Petersburg making them more easily accessible to those who need them.

There are more than 400 non-profits in St. Petersburg according to VolunteerMatch.org. The Web site helps potential volunteers find organizations to volunteer for in their community. While it’s difficult to pinpoint the number that specifically serve Midtown because of the number organizations that have had spin-offs of other non-profits, the community definitely needs them.

“I don’t think we can ever succeed, without the not-for-profit and faith-based community,” city of St. Petersburg Economic Development Coordinator Paul Stellrecht said. “The services that they provide are significant. As governments shrink and re-prioritize due to property tax revenue shrinking, I see opportunities for not-for-profits increasing. People need to be served and the government won’t be able to help, so the not-for-profits and faith-based community will have to step it up to meet the demand.”

One non-profit with a far reaching impact is Fit Active Black families or FAB, a federally funded program that helps families learn how to make healthy choices with free nutritional advice and exercise programs. FAB offers about 20 programs through its seven partnerships lead by the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg. Its goal is to reduce diabetes and childhood obesity in the African-American population in south St. Petersburg. Adults and children can check out nutrition and exercise classes six days a week. Those seeking help managing their diabetes, weight or salt intake can attend classes and get nutritional advice geared toward their needs through one of the FAB partners, Johnnie Ruth Clarke. Obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are just a few of the health challenges African-Americans are most likely to face. Reports show 77 percent of African-American women and 62 percent of African-American men are overweight according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

FAB Families Project Manager Keisha Bell said despite the challenges, there are people who are sticking with a program.

“We have a number of success stories though,” Bell said. “A lot of people are losing weight, are feeling better, are just having more energy. Some people report not having to take as much medication.”

FAB offers a Kid FABulous 12 week academy for children struggling with their weight. Jeniece Talbert, 10, is taking part in the program’s third session. She said within a few weeks of starting the program, she made some changes.

“[I] don’t eat junk food everyday, and I’m not eating ice cream anymore,” Talbert said. “I’m eating frozen yogurt.”

Each week, the kids take part in a two hour class learning how to make nutritious meals and snacks, stretches, strength training and aerobic exercise.
“We’ll have someone come in to talk about nutrition or being bullied at school which is what we’re seeing a lot– self esteem issues, goal setting issues,” Bell said.

The children are given homework to keep track of their progress and books to guide them during the week when the children are away from their instructors.
FAB offers a variety of free exercise classes from aerobics to Zumba. The electric slide class has become increasingly popular since it started back in August. Instructor Natasha Walker has been pulling in about 100 people at the Lake Vista Recreation Center. She said a lot of people have lost weight.

“It feels like a big dance party,” Walker said.

Robert Allen, known as “Pop” for the music he uses for his classes, teaches several classes three days a week. He has taught at Johnnie Ruth Clarke for more than a year and said he’s seen a lot of consistency. People keep coming back for stretching, abs, and cardio workouts. Allen encourages his students to balance eating and working out. If someone skips classes and returns, he’ll ask them if they skipped eating as well. People young, old and in between are taking advantage of the opportunity to get in shape. One of the people in a morning class is a 70-year-old woman who Allen said, “runs circles around everyone else.”
Allen keeps his class motivated by reminding them, “Do what you can do.”
“If you can’t grab your toes, grab your ankles,” Allen said.

The more advanced students are taught how to modify the workouts to make them more challenging. At the end of the class, Allen applauded the participants’ efforts and reminded them to avoid greasy foods, “Eat light, eat right.”
About 3,500 people are taking part in at least one FAB program.

A new non-profit that plans to debut services to Midtown in the fall aims to mentor and tutor middle school children after school to help them become successful adults. Juanita Suber is the co-founder of Golden Generations, a non-profit working to develop the SISTAH2sistah project at Enoch Davis Center. Suber is a licensed social worker. She has been working to secure grants for the project which will bus kids from schools like Bay Point Middle School to Enoch Davis for a three hour program one day a week. At-risk girls will receive tutoring, mentoring, life skills and creative development through performing arts. Suber hopes to help the girls become entrepreneurs to raise money for the program and equip them with the tools to be self-sufficient as adults.

Mentoring will be a large component of the program. “Champions” or positive role models will talk to the girls about making the right life choices to avoid substance abuse, teen pregnancy and self-esteem issues.

Over the course of the 2010-2011 school year, about 50 students with the help of the St. Petersburg’s Recreation Department will have transportation to and from the Enoch Davis, a snack, an hour of tutoring, an hour with a “Champion” and an hour to work on an end-of-year performance to raise money for the program. Suber said the program’s goal is to help increase school attendance, improve grades and FCAT scores, and decrease the student drop-out rate.

“Parents are the link,” Suber said.

She plans to recruit parents to get involved in SISTAH2sistah and school activities and volunteer to help implement the project with their own children. Parents will also get regular feedback on how their children are doing in the program. SISTAH2sistah will operate with the “It takes a village” theme and will try to get the community involved in encouraging and motivating the children to have better lives.

Sanderlin Director Lounell Britt hopes there will be more programs like FAB and SISTAH2sistah in the community to strengthen families and protect children by giving them a place to go. Britt sees Sanderlin as an information service, helping people learn how to get food stamps online, health department services, and prepare income taxes. Britt believes accessibility is really critical. About 15 programs and non-profits use the Sanderlin to serve the community.

“Neighborhood family centers really are a hub in the community,” Britt said.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office shuttles Midtown residents to Sanderlin on the Mobile Video Visitation Bus to talk with jail inmates via video link. Britt said mothers and children are able to talk with members of the family and avoid the hassle of trying to get to the jail in Largo. Sanderlin is one of four places in the entire county where the service is offered making it vital to those who have family in jail.

After 10 years at Sanderlin, Britt is hopeful about the future.

“I hope we continue to grow and groom the next group of leaders,” Britt said. “I would like to really focus in on education.”

Britt would like to see a program offering more guidance and leadership for young men to help possibly give then a different outlook on life. Sanderlin already offers a program for girls ages 9-11 called Be True to You and for girls and boys ages 6-10 called Cool Kids. She would also like to find a way to engage older kids 14-16. In the mean time, Sanderlin will continue to show Midtown what’s already available with community fairs like Weed and Seed the 1st Saturday in May. The purpose of the federally funded program is to “weed” out drugs and violence and “seed” community involvement with free health screenings and representatives from a variety of non-profits ready to help.