Posted by: healthyadvances on: July 1, 2009
Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with Caitlin Baker, the founder of her non-profit organization Caitlin B or Competitive American Indians Turning Lifestyles into New Beginnings. The athlete from Norman, Okla., has been swimming since the age of 9 and is using her focus on athletics to speak to youth about living healthy lifestyles and using sports and their voices to become leaders. Caitlin has been visiting schools across the nation and speaking to children about the power they have to help improve their lives and the community for the past three years and has partnered with big-name organizations like the CDC, Smithsonian and several Indian Tribes.
Oh, and she’s 15. But like a true professional, Caitlin had words of wisdom to share about her cause.
“You hear every day that you need to be healthy and [youth] already know that,” Caitlin said. “Now it’s up to us to put the necessities out there to allow them to do it—it takes partnership to accomplish anything in life.”
And just in case you think Ms. Baker is some phenom/poster child for accomplishing her goals…well, maybe she is—she is also quite normal and not being compelled by her mother or any adult to take this message to her peers… has to be a complete overachiever who with no age-appropriate tendencies, you’re sadly mistaken.
You can read more about the work she’s doing here and then maybe go find out about the effects of diabetes, obesity and poor nutrition.
Some Motivation:
