Thank you, Strough Middle School!

This morning, the Ask, Listen, Learn team was in Rome, NY at Lyndon Strough Middle School. We enjoyed talking to the kids with Congressman Richard Hanna and hope you all had fun playing our Xavix game and winning sunglasses and bag giveaways for answering questions about healthy lifestyles.

Thank you to Principal Rourke and all the teachers for hosting us at your school today. And to all the students: keep studying hard, and always remember to say YES to a healthy lifestyle, and NO to underage drinking!

Join our new ambassadors- take the pledge!

As part of our efforts to keep kids safe and alcohol free, we have expanded our list of ambassadors of the Ask, Listen, Learn team to empower kids to “Say 'YES' to a healthy lifestyle and 'NO' to underage drinking.”  The ambassadors excel in their selected paths and attribute some of their success to saying NO to underage drinking.

While parents are still the leading influence in a kids' decision not to drink alcohol, athletes and positive role models also hold weight in encouraging kids in making healthy decisions.  Our variety of Superstars encourage kids to join over 700,000 other kids that have signed the pledge committing to a healthy lifestyle. 

The newest addition to the Ask, Listen, Learn Superstar team includes:

• Bryan Clay, two-time decathlon medalist and regarded as the “World's Greatest Athlete”


• Tyson Gay, three-time world champion and America's “Fastest Man”


• Steve Lopez, three-time medalist in Taekwondo


• Rebecca Soni, breaststroke world champion and gold medalist swimmer


• Mallory Weggemann, champion Paralympic swimmer


• Remmi Smith, star of "Cook Time with Remmi," and "The Culinary Kid"

We urge kids to visit asklistenlearn.com throughout the month of April in celebration of Alcohol Awareness month.  We've got three new educational games for you to play, the above Superstars to read about, and the option to 'Apolocize' yourself and become the Most Decorated US Winter Olympian. 

Parents, you still play the largest role in your childs' decision not to drink alcohol.  Visit asklistenlearn.com/parents for tips on how to start the conversation with your kids.  Start talking with your kids early about the risks of underage drinking as a key way to prevent them from drinking alcohol underage. 

 Join the ranks and take the pledge to “Say 'YES' to a healthy lifestyle and 'NO' to underage drinking.”

Enter your school in the Ask Listen Learn challenge!

Could you use $1,000 in a Sportime voucher to buy PE equipment for your school or community based organization? How about a visit from an Ask, Listen, Learn Ambassador to your school? If so, we encourage you to team up with your students and enter the 2012 Ask, Listen, Learn Challenge! The Century Council, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and Sportime are proud to announce the first ever “Ask, Listen, Learn Challenge” to raise awareness on the importance of saying “yes” to a healthy lifestyle and “no” to underage drinking during Alcohol Awareness Month.

This challenge is open to teachers of grades 5-7 who are current users of the Ask, Listen, Learn interactive game. For details and to enter, please download the registration form and submit to asklistenlearn@aahperd.org by April 15.

Winners will be announced during National Physical Education and Sport Week (May 1-7). For more information regarding the competition, please contact Chris Kuhn via email at kuhnc@centurycouncil.org or by phone at (202) 637-0077.

Don't miss this great opportunity! Be one of the first 200 people who register and receive a heavy-duty Sportime SetSack to help organize and transport your PE equipment!

An Alcohol Awareness Month Message from Bryan Clay

I am really excited that we have finally entered April.  We have finally entered spring on our way to summer and the Olympics this year and it is Alcohol Awareness Month!  While I have spent tons of time on the track and in the gym, I have also been spending time with The Century Council and the Ask, Listen, Learn program.  We have visited middle schools and talked about the importance of making healthy decisions and saying no to underage drinking.  My kids are not quite teens yet, but as a father, I understand the need to be involved in your kids' lives and this program strikes a chord with me.  When my kids are teens I want them to make healthy decisions and live up to their full potential – and underage drinking is not one of those healthy decisions. 

I didn't make all of the right decisions when I was younger and it took a lot of hard lessons for me to realize I was on the wrong path and wasn't living at my 100% potential.  You can check out my book Redemption when it comes out on May 1^st.  In it I explain some of the struggles I went through and how I had to realize that the only way to become a successful Olympic Athlete was to make better life decisions than I was making before. 

According to research, nearly one-third of eighth graders report that they have tried alcohol once in their lifetime and 15% report they have been drunk.  Parents, start talking about the dangers of underage drinking with your teens now.  You can use these tools at www.asklistenlearn.com  to show your kids how to say “YES” to a healthy lifestyle and “NO” to underage drinking.

Thank you, Brownsville Middle School!

Today the Ask, Listen, Learn team was with Congresswoman Frederica Wilson in Miami, Florida for an event at Brownsville Middle School.

We'd like to thank the school administration for hosting us and the students for participating and playing our Xavix game. We hope you learned a lot about the benefits of saying YES to a healthy lifestyle, and NO to underage drinking!

March is National Nutrition Month

It's the middle of March- have you been thinking about your family's diet and nutrition? To get in to the spirit of St. Patrick's Day this weekend, why not try to get everyone to eat more colors out of the rainbow?

The theme for National Nutrition Month with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietics is “Get your plate in Shape.” We think one of the best and easiest ways to get more vitamins and nutrients pumping through your body is by adding a greater variety of colors to your plate! According to the CDC, fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals and fiber that may help protect you from chronic diseases. People who eat more generous amounts of fruits and veggies as part of a healthful diet are likely to have reduced risk of stroke, other cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers.

If you're looking down at bowl of pasta with butter, take a moment to read over the benefits of all the colors of fruits and veggies to inspire yourself to “Get your plate in shape!”...