CHICAGO, IL –– Saturday, June 27, 2009, over 60 health and community services agencies will join the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition to present Chicago's third-annual ¡Vive tu vida! Get Up! Get Moving!™ celebration. The event promotes family physical activity for better health and wellness for people of all ages and all sizes. The event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at McKinley Park Fieldhouse at 2210 West Pershing Road (at the corner of West Pershing and South Western Blvd.) in Chicago. The event is FREE and open to the public.

¡Vive tu vida! Get Up! Get Moving!™ reminds us that people of all ages and sizes can make movement a part of their daily lives — and have fun doing it! Dance, learn a new activity, or walk with family or friends. “There are hundreds of ways to ‘get up and get moving’ for your health,” says Esther Sciamarella, executive director of the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition.

Proclamations declaring ¡Vive tu vida! Get Up! Get Moving!™ day will be issued by Governor Pat Quinn and Mayor Richard Daley highlighting the State and City's commitment to “exercise: mind, body & spirit — it is how to live!”

This exciting event is expected to attract thousands and will feature FREE health screenings including cholesterol, blood pressure, immunizations, and eye exams, as well as health information for all participants. Among the fun FREE family activities scheduled are Fun Kick soccer clinics sponsored by the Chicago Fire; tennis clinics, including lessons for youth, sponsored by the Midwest Tennis Association; a basketball hoops tourney; dance lessons; safe bike lessons; and Zumba! FREE Raffles will also take place throughout the event for kids bikes; family-pack tickets to the Chicago Fire soccer game that evening against the Tigres UANL; Antonio Solís, Pepe Aguilar, and Wisin and Yandel concert tickets; and much more.

The event will also feature the “Artery Explorer,” a multi-sensory motion simulator ride that takes people on a virtual tour of the heart and illustrates the importance of vascular health. The simulator is part of AstraZeneca's “US Against Athero” national tour that brings a positive message about the steps we can all take for our heart health.

“Making movement a daily part of your life is one of the most important steps you can take for your and your family's health,” says Jane L. Delgado, PhD, MS, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. “We are grateful to our national sponsors for their support of these family health events and thank AstraZeneca for helping us make heart health information available, Univision Communications for working to get the word out about the events, and the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) and U.S. Soccer Foundation for making tennis and soccer clinics a part of a great day of fun activities for the whole family!”

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About the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition (CHHC)
The Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition was established in June 1991 as a multi-disciplinary membership organization to address the need to promote health and prevent disease among Chicago's Hispanic community. The Coalition's mission is to promote healthy behavior and prevent chronic disease. CHHC advances health education and disease prevention in the Hispanic community through coalition building and direct action. It seeks to empower the Hispanic community by providing a centralized forum for capacity building, coordination, policy and networking among health and human service providers and consumers.

About the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (The Alliance)
The National Alliance for Hispanic Health is the nation's premier source of information and trusted advocate for Hispanic health in the United States. The Alliance represents thousands of Hispanic health providers across the nation providing services to more than 15 million each year, making a difference in the lives of Hispanic communities and families daily. For more information, call the Alliance's Su Familia: The National Hispanic Family Health Helpline at 866-783-2645 or visit www.hispanichealth.org.

About the Health Foundation for the Americas (HFA)
HFA is the support organization for the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. HFA encourages philanthropy and advocates for the power and promise of Hispanic community-based solutions challenging medicine and science communities to apply the lessons learned from the Hispanic health experience to all communities.

About ¡Vive tu vida! Get Up! Get Moving!™
¡Vive tu vida! Get Up! Get Moving!™ is the premier nation-wide family physical activity and healthy lifestyle event with a 10-city tour in 2009 expected to attract over 25,000 participants. The family-oriented events are organized by 10 leading Hispanic community-based organizations and are tailored to the interests and cultures of each community. Events will take place in Albuquerque, NM; Chicago, IL; Chula Vista, CA; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Phoenix, AZ; and San Diego, CA. More than 60 health and community service agencies partner to contribute to this event. The National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the Health Foundation for the Americas present the series, along with its national sponsors: AstraZeneca, Univision Communication's Salud es vida ¡Entérate!, the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) and U.S. Soccer Foundation. For more information call 1-866-783-2645, text VIDA to 30644, or visit hispanichealth.org/vida/