The Southeast Queens Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with community partners, will host an Adopt a School Healthy Day event on Saturday, June 8th from 1-6pm at Baisley Pond Park.
The purpose of the event, to be held at Rockaway and Baisley streets, is to show appreciation for the youth, parents, teachers, emergency workers and working families of southeast Queens by providing free health and therapy services, according to the Rev. Simone Lord-Marcel, founder and executive director of SEQCC.
The event will include naturopathic, iridological and reflexology services, Lord-Marcel said in a prepared statement. Healthy foods, juices and smoothies will be distributed and licensed professional practitioners will be on-site to provide self-defense demonstrations, pastoral counseling and grief counseling with therapy referrals.
“Our young people, especially teens and pre-teens, need our guidance, love, mentorship and appreciation,” Lord Marcel said. “COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our mental health and we must support and guide each other now. Many of our young people cannot find meaning in life and often turn to gangs for attention. The Adopt a School initiative was launched to support young people by connecting them to health services, mentorship, internships, business leaders, holistic professionals and CMS.”
The event will also feature massage chairs, games and activities, said Lord Marcel, who has a doctorate in naturopathic medicine. People interested in signing up to attend, sponsor or exhibit for business purposes can register at eventbrite.com.
Community partners include City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica), South Jamaica community-based organization Royal People Group, King of Kings Foundation, 113th Provincial Clergy Council, United Neighbors Civic Association, Mother Earth Juice Bar Cafe, Anointed by God Ministries and Love Ignited Freedom Through Education Camp.
“Our participation in School Wellness Day is an extension of our ongoing efforts to enhance the health and well-being of our community,” Marcel Crooks, director of therapeutic and wellness services at LIFE Camp, said in a statement. “We believe that through collaboration and community engagement, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of Southeast Queens students and their families.”
Lord Marcel said LIFE Camp made a difference in her life by providing therapists when her husband, 60-year-old pastor at Inspire New York People’s First Baptist Church, died in March from complications from high blood pressure. The SEQCC wellness event is both a way to pay tribute to her husband and give back to the community he served and to other emergency workers.
“He worked as a crisis manager for 100 Suits for 100 Men,” Lord Marcel told the Chronicle. “He worked there for three years and was active as a youth mentor on the streets, even though he already had a job as an accountant.”
Crisis management work can involve violence, it can involve death and it can be very traumatic, Lord-Marcel said.
“CMS officials can’t do it alone so I want others to help and create schools that will keep kids off the streets and out of gangs. Those are the people kids turn to when they’re under mental pressure and financial insecurity,” she said. “My husband was a really, really good man. A very kind and loyal man who went above and beyond the call of duty, but he had high blood pressure, he got dizzy and hit his head and he died suddenly.”
Lord-Marcel said people in white and wealthy communities are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyle habits, while people in black and poor communities are offered medication.
“I’m imploring people to exercise, change their diet and take their health and life seriously,” she added. “We have to heal people from the inside out.”
