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Jacksonville Kids Passionate About Fighting Childhood Obesity

I'm a Star Foundation

A couple dozen Jacksonville kids will travel to Washington D.C. this weekend to present their plan for combating childhood obesity to the U.S. Surgeon General.

The students range from 11 to 18 years old and are part of the “I’m a Star Foundation.”

Executive Director of the foundation Betty Burney says the kids have two goals.

“One is for the Surgeon General to help them promote their idea, because they’re going to promote it no matter what,” Burney said. “But then the other piece is they were reading the Surgeon General’s call to action they noticed that he was trying to figure out ways to get more teenagers walking after school and getting the whole country walking so they’re going to give him solutions.”

Burney says the kids are developing a website and an app to help other young people develop healthy lifestyle plans, and they want to start a virtual youth-led obesity summit.

Lindsey Kilbride was WJCT's special projects producer until Aug. 28, 2020. She reported, hosted and produced podcasts like Odd Ball, for which she was honored with a statewide award from the Associated Press, as well as What It's Like. She also produced VOIDCAST, hosted by Void magazine's Matt Shaw, and the ADAPT podcast, hosted by WJCT's Brendan Rivers.