The We Can!® Hollywood Premiere

Posted October 5‚ 2010

It was an event worthy of a red carpet. This spring, five hundred youth, parents, and caregivers attended We Can!'s family-friendly premiere in Hollywood—Hollywood, Florida, that is. The setting was a sunny April morning at the YMCA of Greater Hollywood's Healthy Kids Day. We Can! star, community site leader, and health and fitness enthusiast, Veronica Tomor, seized the opportunity of the existing event to present We Can! to local residents.

"The YMCA's Healthy Kids Day is very much in line with the goals of the We Can! program," said Tomor, who alongside her 10-year-old son, ran a We Can! booth at the four hour-long event. "I saw it as a great opportunity to introduce the program."

At the booth, Tomor and her son displayed We Can! posters and curricula, distributed various We Can! materials and resources, and fielded questions from interested parents and kids. Alongside popular tools, including portion distortion and calorie counting materials, Tomor displayed two additional visual aids: one pound of fat and one pound of muscle. The visual representations engaged both parents and youth and encouraged the participants to think critically about their food choices and levels of physical activity.

Aside from her interest in, and passion for, health and fitness, Tomor sees a great need for promotion of overweight and obesity prevention programs in her region… and she is happy to take on that responsibility!

"This is something that I want to champion," said Tomor, who before she began We Can! three years ago, was leading several different health and fitness initiatives. "It is amazing how We Can! gets people talking, and how connecting with people in your community creates great opportunities."