EDITOR’S NOTE: Nine year old Zoe A. Terry is the founder of Zoe’s Dolls.

 

By Zoe A. Terry

Special to South Florida Times

 

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. –The Zoe’s Doll’s Girl Fit Experience sponsored by The City of Miami Gardens Councilman Rodney Harris and Vice Mayor Felicia Robinson took place, Saturday, July 23 at Rolling Oaks Parks, located at 18701 NW 17th Avenue in Miami Gardens.

OMG! Girl Fit was so much fun. Eighty girls participated and we had so many activities. We had the big, human hamster balls. We had the PE-X games where we played extreme soccer, extreme basketball and the parachute strength game. We had the hula hoop station, jump rope station, sack race station and the awesome bike race course.

The human hamster balls were so much fun.   The balls were so big that when you bumped someone you would bounce on the ground and then fall down. You would have to try so hard to get back up. It was so funny to watch as girls were rolling all around and running and bumping into each other.

Everywhere you looked there were girls getting fit, having fun and enjoying themselves. One of the coolest things that happened is two girls and a boy who did not know how to ride a bike learned how to ride a bike at The Girl Fit Experience. They were so excited and happy and it made me feel so good.

“Everything was so much fun. It was so hot but we had so much fun. It didn’t even feel like we were exercising. It just felt like fun,” said Takia Smith, one of the participants. “I love it. I hope that they do another one. It was so cool. I did not even want to come but I’m glad I did.”

I started Girl Fit because my mom read a report to me that black girls had the highest obesity rate out of any other culture and I could not understand why. I wanted to do something about it. I wanted little black girls to know that their image is beautiful and that a beautiful image is a healthy image.

A lot of people supported the event. The City of Miami Gardens’ Councilman Rodney Harris and Vice Mayor Felicia Robinson were not only there, they participated in the activities. They did the extreme soccer and the human hamster balls. It was so exciting to see people as important as the councilman and vice mayor really participating.

Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert was also there. He was so funny. He was doing the hula hoops and he even led the adult bike race. He took pictures with everybody and was so nice. We even had Miami Gardens Chief of Police Antonio Brooklyn and some of his officers in attendance.

Officer Nelly Joseph and Officer Richard Robinson were there. All the girls loved Officer Robinson. He was dancing and getting down during the warm up. He was doing the hula hoops and the sack races. He was such a nice officer and so kind and friendly to us.

Vendors gave out really neat information on how to eat and stay healthy. Live Healthy Miami Gardens gave us water bottles and t-shirts, but only if we completed the hop scotch game. An organization called Flipany gave out these really good treats that were like mini watermelon pizzas; a slice of watermelon cut like a small triangle with blue cheese, basil and raspberries on it. It was so delicious and so healthy.

I started Girl Fit because I wanted little girls just like me to get fit, but in a fun way. It should not matter where you live or how much money you have, you should still have the opportunity to be healthy and feel good about yourself. My goal is to do The Girl Fit Experience in different communities across Miami and Broward County. Girls are powerful and we can do anything and that includes being healthy.

For more information about The Girl Fit Experience or Zoe’s Dolls visit our website at www.zoesdolls.com.