The Features section offers community profiles of people and organizations who are taking action to MOVE MORE and EAT BETTER.

Table of Contents

BOND of Color
Davida Wright: Getting fit..........And Staying There!
Phenomenal Man: Frederick Hayes
Julia Tripp: Dancing Keeps Me Motivate

BOND of Color

BOND of Color (Boston Organization of Nutritionists and Dieticians) is a network of black nutritionists and dieticians in the Boston community. The members of BOND formed in 1995 for mutual support and to promote better health in Boston's communities of color.

BOND sponsors activities such as nutrition workshops. They also provide consultations, provide career guidance, mentoring programs, and professional workshops.

BOND of Color nutritionists and dieticians work in a variety of agencies in the community. Sonia Carter, the current chairperson of BOND of Color, is a nutritionist who has been with ABCD/HeadStart for over 10 years. Sonia has been a member of BOND of Color since it began. Sonia notes,

"One of the really good things about BOND of Color is that we reflect the community,
including women from the Caribbean and the southern United States."

BOND of Color has been a partner of the Sisters Together coalition since 1996, and has co-sponsored several events in the community. These events include the 1997 cooking demonstration with Jonell Nash, the food editor of Essence Magazine, and a nutrition and cooking demonstration table at the 2nd Annual Franklin Park Walk Your Body event in 1998.

If you would like more information about BOND of Color, please write to:

BOND of Color
P.O. Box 456
Dorchester, MA 02124-0004

Davida Wright: Getting fit……And Staying There!

Preparing for a wedding can be a challenge, especially when you are a working woman and planning your own wedding. As summer approaches many Sisters are getting married and many trying to get in shape for that wedding day. This can be quite a challenge. Davida Wright, health and science reporter from New England cable news shares her story with the Sister Together readers!

"Last year was a turning point in my life. At the age of 31 I was preparing to get married. The date was set for September 19th. In January I found a beautiful dress which was being sold half off the original price. The only problem was that the zipper wouldn't quite close. That's okay, I thought, because I was planning to lose weight for the big day anyway."

The first thing Davida did was to recruit her fiancé to diet too. Concerned about both of their health Davida took on the roll of preparing healthy meals for dinner. She used her crockpot to save time and prepare healthy meals. Second, Davida wrote down everything she ate during the day. By using this method she realized how few vegetables and fruits she was really eating on a daily basis.

"When I made the effort to eat at least two-three fruits and three-four vegetables a day I had less of a desire for unhealthy snacks."

Third, she maintained a steady exercise and weight training program. Davida found that increasing the number of times in a week that she worked out was a real booster. Davida admits that keeping up on her exercise routine was not easy. If she worked late and was tired she would skip going to the gym. To keep her routine consistent, Davida changed her work out time to early mornings at the gym. She took a weight training course and later became one of the instructors. Weight training not only helped her lose weight but also sculpted her body.

From March until the end of summer Davida exercised five or six days a week. She also ate better, ate light lunches, and snacked only on fruit and carrot sticks. She also ate hot well-balanced meals for dinner. Between March and July she lost weight and got fit. Davida looked and felt great in her wedding dress in September!

Since then Davida admits to gaining a few pounds but she is maintaining her fitness. She stays active by teaching a weight strengthening class at least once a week. In the winter she skis two or three weekends a month. In the summer
she plays on an Ultimate Frisbee league team. "It's a lot of running," she says. She loves to roller blade, ice skate, bike ride, play racquetball and tennis. Davida and her husband always include some athletic activity in their weekends. They love to eat and as a result have developed a love for staying active. As they say "We're sure this will keep us young."

Phenomenal Man: Frederick Hayes

Frederick Hayes was born to be a dancer. He grew up in Roxbury and studied dance at South Florida and the Atlanta Dance Academy. He now spreads his creative wings in the inner city communities of Boston. As the director of the dance program at the Reggie Lewis Center, Frederick's mission is to make dance accessible to everyone.

Frederick is familiar to many Sisters Together members as one of the "Fun and Fitness" instructors. Fun and Fitness is the exercise and dance program offered free four nights a week through the Women Enjoying Longer Lives Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Frederick also teaches dance to hundreds of youth in the community through his work at the Reggie Lewis Center and the Boys and Girls Club of Roxbury.

In May 1998 a group of Fun & Fitness participants made their debut dance performance at the Reggie Lewis Dance Performance concert, the annual event that Fred organizes. The group has evolved into the "Fun & Fitness Dance Workshop and performed again at First Night in Boston in 1999 and at the Reggie Lewis Dance Performance concert in June 1999.

Federick Hayes is amazed by the women of Fun & Fitness. He is constantly inspired by the women who develop their skills to dance and express themselves beyond boundaries they never imagined. Frederick is serious about his work as a dancer and shares his passion of dance with many women and families in the inner cities of Boston.

Awards

In March 1999 Frederick Hayes danced at the Pine Street Inn's celebration of "Spirit at Work" which is an event organized to honor the workers at the Pine Street Inn who have dedicated their lives to serving homeless men and women of Boston. The Pine Street Inn Newsletter gave Frederick a remarkable review when Fred performed a dance to "Mary Don't You Weep" dedicated to men and women who died on the streets last winter. The reporter said that Fred's performance was the "most breathtaking performance of the day" (Pine Street Inn News March 1999).

On May 1, 1999 the City of Cambridge and the Governor's office awarded Frederick Hayes the Dance Belt Award in honor of his energy and artistry in the promotion of dance in Boston. Fred said "I'm shocked that someone I don't even know nominated me for this award."

Julia Tripp: Dancing Keeps Me Motivated

"Dance and exercise have increased my self-confidence. I feel stronger and healthier with less fatigue."

Keeping a healthy lifestyle can often be a challenge. This is especially true for many Sisters who are balancing a job, family and community involvement. Julia Tripp uses her love of dance to keep her motivated. Julia is a 43-year-old AIDS activist. She participates in the Reggie Lewis African Jazz Dance workshop with Frederick Hayes.

Dancing has encouraged Julia to establish a regular fitness routine and a balanced diet. She plans her workouts around her busy schedule, planning carefully to make sure she can find pockets of time to fit in exercise. In addition to dancing, Julia enjoys aerobics, walking and jogging.

Haircare is also a factor in Julia's active lifestyle. "I'm very, very busy, so I've decided to put my hair in braids. This allows me to not have to spend hours or a lot of money on it."

Julia has found inspiration and useful information in the Sisters Together publications. She says, "Sisters Together has a positive message of the unity of sisters making changes."

This page is maintained by Sisters Together. To contact us with suggestions, comments, and questions, please e-mail: rrudd@hsph.harvard.edu.

Harvard School of Public Health

Copyright, 2001, President and Fellows of Harvard College