More than 125 students from 25 middle schools across Philadelphia attended a youth summit focused on leading their schools to create healthy changes on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Lending their support to the HYPE Middle School Youth Leadership Summit, with Chelsea Clinton as the keynote speaker, were Penn’s Center for Public Health Initiatives, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative and School of Nursing. The event presented by The Food Trust was part of their HYPE initiative, or Healthy You, Positive Energy, created in response to the childhood-obesity epidemic. 

This is the second year the Center for Public Health Initiatives, an interdisciplinary center at Penn that fosters sustainable community-academic partnerships that emphasize translating research into practice, has paired up with The Food Trust to host the Summit. 

The youth-wellness initiative is designed to empower middle- and high-school students to become leaders for healthy change. By using hip-hop, social marketing and special events, the program illustrates the importance of being healthy in a fresh, relevant way. 

Sara Solomon, the deputy director of CPHI, said the summit offers chances to strengthen partnerships and student involvement. 

“It provides an opportunity for the Center to collaborate with our partners on school-based initiatives,” Solomon said. "In addition, it allows us to engage undergraduate and graduate Penn students as volunteers and facilitators, as part of their professional development.” 

Terri Lipman, assistant dean for community engagement and a professor at Penn Nursing, said that clinical practice and community engagement are essential elements in translating and applying knowledge, and the HYPE Youth Leadership Summit gives healthcare professionals a way to connect to young people. 

“‘Care to Change the World’ is not only our motto at Penn Nursing but a heartfelt commitment to partner with our community to improve health,” said Lipman. 

At the Summit, she and her colleagues had a chance to highlight one of their most popular initiatives, Dance for Health, a program that engages undergraduate and graduate nursing students from Penn in mentoring high school students, evaluating the impact of an inter-generational program to increase physical activity in the community through dance. 

Nearly 40 percent of school-aged children in Philadelphia are considered overweight or obese. Health experts say that unless this changes, today’s children could be the first in the history of the United States to lead shorter lives than their parents. 

“AUNI works to promote health and subsequently address the complex impact of obesity by lifting up youth and community members to identify and implement practical solutions,” said Folasshade Laud-Hammond, the director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships’ Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative. 

The middle-school students who attended the summit completed health-related surveys; learned about gardening, exercise and making smarter choices; took photographs with classmates; participated in performances with Sterlen Barr and Special EFX dance crew; delivered brief presentations; and pledged to move toward better health outcomes.