On April 23, our field lost a true leader. Dr. Antronette (Toni) Yancey died at the age of 55, following a year-long battle with lung cancer. Toni had a larger-than-life personality and made incredible contributions to public health. She worked tirelessly to change norms around physical activity by encouraging workplaces and schools to make brief activity breaks a routine part of the day. Toni was the founder of "Instant Recess®" -- a "MOVEment of ACTIVE-ists dedicated to making America healthier 10 minutes at a time." Click here to read more about Toni's life and legacy, and here to learn more about Instant Recess.
Prevention Institute, along with many of our partners, will honor Toni's memory by doing exactly what Toni would have wanted us to do -- GET UP AND MOVE! We invite our friends and partners: Gather your co-workers on Tuesday, May 7 at 1 pm PDT (4 pm EDT) for a 10-minute instant recess. It's easy -- click here and Toni and the Los Angeles Sparks will lead you and your colleagues through a brief activity break. Don't forget to take a picture or quick video and share it with us on Facebook or Twitter! We'll retweet and share so everyone can see #InstantRecess celebrated across the country.
Toni sent an email to colleagues earlier this year which said: "No matter how great your idea is, you're just a lone nut until someone follows you & transforms you into a leader. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for following me to start the real momentum behind Instant Recess. Now if every one of us shares this idea with others, we'll have a real MOVEment on our hands! That's my wish for the New Year - that Instant Recess becomes an unstoppable MOVEment helping us to turn around the obesity trends in this country."
Toni was just getting started. It's up to us to continue the MOVEment. Please help us make Toni's wish a reality and join us in as we honor her contributions and legacy.
Help spread the word
We need your help to get as many people as we can up and moving on Tuesday. Please share this with your networks, and on social media, too. Below, we've provided sample posts. If your organization would like to join in, please send a quick email to linda-at-preventioninstitute.org, and we'll add you to the list of participating partners.
Sample Tweet for #InstantRecess
Here's a tweet you can adapt and send to your followers:
Get movin! Celebrate life of Toni Yancey with @preventioninst & partners. May 7, 1 pm PDT #instantrecess See http://bit.ly/11VSIga
Check Out Our Facebook Page
Check our Facebook page here and see what we're saying about Toni Yancey and our #InstantRecess tribute to her. Follow Instant Recess on Facebook here. Then feel free to repost it, or create your own FB tribute.
Check Out Our Partners
Here's impressive list of organizations that plan to join with us to honor Toni on May 7 by moving their bodies in the #InstantRecess. If you'd like to sign on as a partner, please contact linda-at-preventioninstitute.org
- Action for Healthy Kids
- Active Living By Design
- Active Living Research
- Ad Lucem
- Alameda County Office of Education
- American Academy of Pediatrics, California
- American Association of Public Health Physicians
- American College of Sports Medicine
- American Heart Association, Western States Affiliate
- American Journal of Preventive Medicine
- American Public Health Association
- Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
- Atkins Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley
- Behr Communications
- Berkeley Media Studies Group
- California Center for Public Health Advocacy
- California Convergence
- The California Endowment
- California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
- California Park & Recreation Society
- The California Wellness Foundation
- California WIC Association
- Camrose Community Health Center
- Cancer Care Initiative
- Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB)
- Center for Closing the Health Gap
- Center for Community Based Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at UNC Chapel Hill
- Center for Nutrition and Activity Promotion at California State University, Chico
- Center for Prevention Services
- Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program
- ChangeLab Solutions
- Child Care Food Program Roundtable
- Choose Health LA
- City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services
- Communities Adolescents Nutrition Fitness (CANFIT)
- Community Action Partnership of Orange County
- Community Guide Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Community Health Councils
- Community Initiatives
- Community Partners
- Cooperative Extension in Fresno, California
- Dairy Council of California
- Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Directors of Health Promotion & Education (DHPE)
- Esperanza Community Housing Corporation
- FAME Assistance Corporation
- Farm Fresh To You
- First 5 LA
- FIT Training Crew and FITChicks
- Food, Nutrition & Policy Consultants, LLC
- Fresno County Office of Education
- Global Health Fellows Program II
- Gramercy Research Group
- Health Communication Research Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis
- Healthy Shasta
- Henry Ford Health System - Generation With Promise Youth Leadership Program
- Infusion Wellness
- Instant Recess Inc.
- The Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies
- Institute for Health Promotion Research, UTHSCSA
- Institute for Human and Social Development/Head Start San Mateo County
- James Morehouse Project at El Cerrito High School
- Journeyworks Publishing
- Jubilee Consortium
- Kaiser Permanente
- Kansas State University Research and Extension
- Kids Come First Community Health Center
- Latino Health Access
- Lawndale Library
- LAUSD Nursing Service
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Health Education Administration
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Office of Women's Health
- Los Angeles County Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention
- The Los Angeles Sparks
- Louisiana Public Health Institute
- Maternal and Child Health Access
- MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Meade County
- Merced County Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program (CCROPP)
- Metropolitan Richmond Sports Backers
- Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas School of Public Health
- Monrovia Health Center
- Moorpark Unified School District's Let's Move, Moorpark!
- Nancercize
- National Business Group on Health
- National Physical Activity Plan Alliance
- National Physical Activity Society
- National WIC Association
- Network for a Healthy California-Orange County Region
- Orange County Health Care Agency- Health Promotion Division
- Partnership for a Healthier America
- Peaceful Playgrounds
- PHFE WIC Program
- PolicyLink
- Pregnancy Aid of Snohomish County WIC Program in Washington State
- Prevention Institute
- Preventobesity.net
- Progressive Health Center
- Project EAT
- Public Health Institute
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Safe Routes to School National Partnership
- San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative
- Santa Clara County Public Health Department - Center for Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention
- Samaritan Health Services-Community Health Promotion Department
- Samuels Center
- Shasta County Public Health
- SPARK
- South Bay Center for Community Development
- St. Lawrence County Health Initiative, Inc.
- Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments
- Summit Health Institute for Research and Education, Inc.
- UC Cooperative Extension, Riverside County
- UC Cooperative Extension, Tuolomne County
- UCLA Academic Advancement Program
- UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
- UCLA Health System
- United Way of Santa Cruz County
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University of California CalFresh Nutrition Education Program
- University of California County Cooperative Extension
- Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
- The Zenergy Program