Blog

At this year’s Healthi Kids Coalition December meeting, we honored three incredible coalition members who go above and beyond to make our community feel supported, healthier and more playful.  Curtis Birthwright: The Good Energy Award Curtis has been bringing positive energy to our work sin...

Last month, Healthi Kids joined the Booktacular Fall Festival to share our infant mental health resources—and we added something new! Alongside our usual table, we set up a special play space with materials from our Infant & Toddler Play Days. Families loved it! Parents told us how much they appre...

Early on the morning of Oct. 3, volunteers began to arrive at the Ryan R-Center in Rochester’s Beechwood neighborhood. About 120 in total, they came ready to move three truckloads of mulch, mix five pallets of concrete, assemble playground elements and rebuild bleachers for the sports fields. "It f...

Are you a home-based early childhood educator or care provider? We know that you are vital to the health and well-being of the children in your care yet are often under-resourced or lack opportunities for professional development. That’s why Healthi Kids is offering a free training to help you level...

With the government shutdown putting a spotlight on the more than 150,000 people in our area who rely on federal food and nutrition assistance, we thought it timely to highlight one of our long-time partners working to end hunger: Foodlink. Many know Foodlink as a large food bank that stores and di...

Healthy food helps kids grow, gives adults energy, and keeps our bodies strong against illness. Everyone should have access to healthy food, but that doesn’t always happen. In 2021, Rochester started a food policy council to help improve how food is shared and sold in the community. Now you can hel...

In just one day this Friday, October 3, volunteers are building an entire playground from the ground up at the Thomas P. Ryan Recreation Center. Healthi Kids, the City of Rochester, Sierra, and KABOOM! are teaming up for this one-day community build—and it's not just any playground. This one was d...

“Joy in Motion” theme focused on play, creativity and recess as learning tools Dr. Deonna Smith used a tale of two schools to share how learning environments could be filled with – or empty of – joy. Both of the two schools had made impressive academic strides, Dr. Smith said, speaking during...

ROCHESTER – With summer in full swing, thousands of Rochester children are diving into sports, camps, activities, and neighborhood fun. But for many families, summer also brings a pressing challenge: ensuring consistent access to nutritious meals when school cafeterias close. The Summer Meals Part...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Healthi Kids is joining the global celebration of the International Day of Play on Wednesday, June 11. This year’s theme, “Choose Play – Everyday,” reminds families and communities of the importance of making time to play every day. To mark the occasion, Healthi Kids is launching...

Many families with kids younger than 6 are struggling with the cost of basic needs and childcare. But why and how much are they struggling? And what can lawmakers do about it? Those are just some of the questions that local nonprofits ROC the Future Alliance and Common Ground Health’s Healthi Kids...

It was once known as an Advocacy Agenda. But this past year the Healthi Kids Coalition completed a process to refresh and rename this document. Not meant to be an overhaul, it took this step to make sure its work on policies, systems and environmental changes remains relevant to the community. The...

Rochester kids will be learning as they jump, run and play games Wednesday, Feb. 5, during Global School Play Day. This is the second year Healthi Kids and Rochester have participated in the international event, which draws attention to the importance of play in schools. Healthi Kids will provi...