HEALTH AND LIFE SKILLS

Stay Safe from Fire and Water this Summer

Hitting the pool is always fun and a great way to cool off. But it can also be dangerous. Follow these water safety tips from the Red Cross and keep your summer drama limited to the movie theater.

Learn to swim! Take lessons at your local pool. And never swim alone; always use the pool or pond with a buddy present.
Swim in supervised areas only. Obey all rules and posted signs.
Don't rely on substitutes. The use of flotation devices and inflatable toys cannot replace good judgment and common sense. Devices can shift position, lose air or slip out from underneath, leaving you in a dangerous situation.

Fireworks: a Blast But also Dangerous

Yes, fireworks are fun and pleasing to look at. They are also dangerous when handled by non-professionals. If you do use fireworks, stay safe with the following tips.

Treat fireworks with respect. Read all precautions and warnings and use your common sense.
Think! Lighting fireworks indoors, tossing them from cars and lighting several at once can lead to serious accidents.
Keep it legal. Always obey all local laws pertaining to the use of fireworks.

Smart Moves

Mario Urges Club Teens to Make SMART Moves

R&B superstar and Club alum Mario has made the right moves in his young life -- including as a contestant on the hit TV show Dancing With the Stars. He has also impressed upon Club teens the need to make SMART Moves in their lives.

The 21-year-old is currently touring to promote his new album. Recently in Atlanta he talked to a group of teens at a local Club about his life. Part of his time growing up was spent watching his mother battle drug addictions, chronicled in the MTV documentary I Won't Love You to Death: The Story of Mario and His Mom.

Mario, who also has acted in several films, talked to the teens about his wide-ranging career and the importance of making smart decisions like those in the SMART Moves program (Skills, Mastery and Resistance Training). Watch his interview in the video below with myclubmylife.com reporter Ayanna.

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Smart Girls

More than 300 SMART Girls converged during the 2008 National Keystone Conference in Anaheim, Calif., to discuss their dreams, goals and aspirations during the Girls Super Session. The panel, former National Youths of the Year Liberty Franklin (1998-99) and Mieasha Hicks (2003-04), Ashley Echavarria ('05-06 Southwest Youth of the Year), and moderated by Brittny Cantero, current Southwest Youth of the Year, talked about issues pertinent to female teens.

“The session was definitely inspiring. I am motivated to break the mold and achieve the impossible,” said 15-year-old Dachel M. of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark.

Hicks, Liberty, Echavarria and Cantero talked about their goals when they were younger and how they've reached them thus far. They offered advice on goal setting, body image, self-esteem and peer pressure and how those factors can stand in the way of their dreams -- and more importantly, how to make sure they don’t.

“The SMART Girls session was very successful,” Cantero said. “Not just all the emotion I personally felt from the stories the panelists shared, but also from the young ladies who came up to all of us afterward and said the discussion helped turn things around for them in terms of current issues they are facing.”

SMART Girls is proudly sponsored by Tupperware Brands Corporation.