LivOrganic, a newly founded club at Carlmont, is taking action to ensure students stay healthy, active, and aware of what they are eating.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 12% of children from ages 12 to 19 in the United States are overweight. LivOrganic aims to lessen this statistic by educating and teaching fellow students about staying fit and healthy.
LivOrganic, founded and run entirely by sophomores, includes presidents Haeley Kwok and Emilia Lee, along with officers Nathan Paris, Arthur Bernadi, and Jayden Lee. They aim to teach and educate students about being aware of what they eat and the effects it can have on them.
“Whether it be for academic, athletic, or mental purposes, we strive as a club to make it so that all students can utilize healthy habits to better their lives in any shape or form,” Jayden Lee said.
The club’s meetings, which are held on Fridays, usually consist of a guest speaker who is knowledgeable on beneficial eating habits.
Currently, the guest speakers that have spoken at the club include a nutritionist and a bodybuilder, both of whom created an engaging environment for the students while educating them.
The meetings also contain activities, one of which was smashing up potato chips on top of parchment paper to reveal the unhealthy salts and greases contained in the food.
“Usually, we have some sort of activity to educate members about healthy foods and habits, and we do this by creating engaging activities that members enjoy,” Emilia Lee said.
The club leaders also bring in a variety of foods for members to snack on, all of which provide significant health benefits to help students learn which foods are best for their health.
In addition to being educational, the club also functions as a social place for those who want to better educate themselves about staying healthy while also being able to interact with friends and peers.
“LivOrganic is extremely fun, especially since my friends are there to learn with me, it makes the experience ten times better,
— Avi Dhamija, a member of LivOrganic.
The club’s values are fundamental to the founders and current leaders. For Jayden Lee, eating healthy is not simply a goal but a necessity for him to stay fit for sports.
He feels that for athletes, eating healthy is not only essential but can also be pivotal in an athlete’s performance.
“I think that the slight advantage eating healthy provides is what wins and loses games and is crucial,” Jayden Lee said.
Teacher advisor for the club, Cheri Watkins, feels the club has provided a great way to educate students about proper nutrition while also keeping it entertaining for the members.
“The club has done a really good job at being organized and bringing in guest speakers…they’ve done a great job of keeping the meetings fun but still informative,” Watkins said.
Moving forward, the club intends to continue promoting itself to increase the number of members and ultimately educate as many students as possible.
“It’s not that we want to force students to go on huge diets right away, but rather, we think that small, daily habits will change lives,” Jayden Lee said.
