Shape Up Vashon starts its 4th Year with a New Leader

Laura Wishik is now the Executive Director of SUV replacing the founder, Kathleen Davis.  Her first week included showing FED UP at the Vashon Theater and announcing her seminar series,  “Food for Life”. Come to the first class, Sunday, November 2nd
3:30 – 5:00
at Chautauqua Elementary School, to see if these classes are for you. These meetings will focus on the reasons why we have such trouble managing our weight and keeping up with healthy exercise routines. She will also address many other factors that research has shown contribute to an overall healthy of life. Did you know, that if you don’t get good sleep, it is almost impossible to lose weight? Or control your blood sugar? Why is that? Do you have a sugar addiction, even if you are not overweight? Really? Can you or should you do something about it? How? Did you know that getting exercise not only helps with weight control and improves your heart health but can help treat depression and is the only proven intervention you can do to decrease the risk of getting dementia? Go to the WEB site for her class details (www.shapeupvashon.org).

Shape Up Vashon was started with a group of interested Vashon volunteers and sponsored by Foundation for Care Management. FCM is a small nonprofit Vashon organization that provides academic programs for health care providers in rural and underserved areas in the Pacific Northwest and globally on the WEB (www.fcmcme.org). Believing that being part of a smart, motivated supportive community is just as important to maintaining your health as up to date medical providers, SUV was started as a pilot program to help folks who want to improve their health have a community which supports the advice that their medical professionals give them in the office. Laura looks forward to increasing Shape Up Vashon’s membership and involvement in the community. A mother of two high school students, Laura is particularly interested in providing more activities in the schools and for families that will be fun, engaging, and help with the problem that we all have: prioritizing our time so that we can be as healthy as we can be and have more energy for doing what we want to do.

In addition to our 200 plus members and our volunteers, many Island businesses and organizations have believed in our mission from the start and supported us with financial and in-kind donations. Thanks go to Puget Sound Energy, Granny’s, Masi Design, Vashon College, Vashon Athletic Club, True Value, The Hardware Store, Sawbones, Vashon Island Rotary Club, Windermere, Learn to Earn, Vashon Pages, Vashon Pharmacy, the Fire Department, Medical Reserve Corps, Vashon Golf and Tennis Club, Welcome Vashon and Vashon Water Sports.  Chefs at Mays Kitchen, Express Cuisine, Nirvana, Melita Creek and Terry Collelo Catering have donated their time to teach our cooking classes. The Methodist Church provided space for Laura’s winter weight management classes. The Loop and Beachcomber have kept the Island up to date with our activities.  And most precious of all, to the over 40 volunteers who donate their time and talent to make SUV a continuing and growing success,
thanks for believing in our mission, getting us started and continuing to support our activities!!