Siblings Jennifer and Jonathan got up one day and got ready for school, not knowing that this day would have such a drastic impact on there lives. Both of the children went through their morning routines – taking all their medicines, eating their hamburgers for breakfast, and immediately calling their beloved mother to check on her. She had been in the hospital for two weeks after being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. They listen intently to her voice and linger upon her words, because they know that any moment could be her last. Unfortunately Jonathan felt sick and decided to stay home all alone while his sister Jennifer walked to school all alone, because her father wasn’t there to take her. He passed away two years ago – when Jennifer was ten and Jonathan was eight – and not one day passes without them missing him. Not one day passes without these two caring siblings worrying about their parents, not to mention worrying about their own health. This is their day-to-day reality, which is unfortunately common throughout their community and beyond. Not all families may experience this quite as harshly as Jennifer and Jonathan, but they may come close. This is an all-too-familiar sounding story, and we need to prevent these stories from happening, from the roots up. Thankfully, there is a solution – Champions for Change.
The effects of mal-nutrition and lack of exercise are staggering. Every 20 seconds, a person in the United States has a heart attack, and nearly 2,500 Americans die from heart disease each day. An estimated 145,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year. It is predicted that, if we continue in the same unhealthy directions, then we will be the first generation ever to not live longer than our parents.
Obviously, this epidemic needs to change.
Champions for Change takes a stand by empowering and educating communities, rather than enforcing restrictive corporate plans. They promote eating more fruits and vegetables, and being more active in our kitchens, homes, schools, neighborhoods, etc. There are plenty of causes we could be supporting, but you must help yourself before you can help others. With Champions for Change, you can help not only yourself, but also many others. They undeniably supporting the elimination of what is probably the biggest epidemic in our country – cancer. It is said that cancer kills more people than alcohol, drugs, and tobacco combined. There are heaps of solid information that proves that the ultimate cancer-fighting foods are fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies not only prevent cancer, but also prevent many other diseases and everyday illnesses – by building up your immune system. It is simple. We are from this earth and our bodies are designed to live off of what grows naturally from this land; not what has been processed, altered, and denaturalized. The other part of the equation is exercise. It gives us more energy and endurance during the day, it builds our muscles for whatever we may need them for, and it helps our body systems function drastically better. By eating healthier and being more active, we are improving peoples’ lives from home and beyond. People often may think that eating healthy and getting more active costs too much money and time. On the contrary, not doing these things costs more. The price for medications, surgeries, and other treatments definitely outweighs the cost of staying healthy. Also, if more people make these changes, then the cost of doing so will go down – supply and demand. We wouldn’t have to be paying for all of the extra fillers and chemicals, and we could be healthy for less.
Picture a world where children are missing less days of school (because of being sick), less people getting life-threatening diseases, less people are having to pay for expensive medical treatments, people know how to take better care of themselves, people have more energy to reach their goals at school and work, people are stronger and can therefore do more, and most importantly – people have a longer and happier lifetime with the people they love. Why wouldn’t you want all of these great effects? Making these changes are completely possible and completely worth it.
With the power of Champions for Change, we can give homes, kitchens, and entire communities exactly what they need – health. We can give Jennifer and Jonathan better lives, and prevent those things from happening to our loved ones and ourselves.
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All I'm going to say is that this is one heck of a rough draft.
ReplyDeleteStargirlMraz -- This is beautifully done! I like the way you utilized the narrative argument at the beginning and synthesized it with the rest of your argument. I'm also impressed with your handling of opposing views. You laid out your entire position with great clarity and persuasive force and you should be very proud of what you've accomplished here. I know I am :)
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