To demonstrate its commitment to the well-being of residents, the borough held a health and wellness fair on May 10.
The free fair aimed to address a wide range of issues impacting health, from stress and public safety to nutrition and fitness. It was the third annual event of its kind in the borough, with a number of Haddonfield businesses and organizations represented.
Michael Marciante is the executive director of Partnership for Haddonfield, one of the key organizations behind the fair.
“It’s become a nice little tradition downtown,” he said. “The borough has engaged with several downtown Haddonfield businesses, fitness owners and studios, so we’re really excited to have them here. Mother’s Day is a really great weekend to be downtown, so we’re very grateful to have nice weather.”
Every 30 minutes, a fitness organization at the event held a free class on the stage at the end of Kings Highway. The sessions included jazzercise, strength training, Pilates and dance, and Haddonfield! gave a lesson on the cha cha.
Fair attendees participate in a strength training fitness class at the health and wellness fair, the third of its kind in the borough.
Ayana Davis is the experience manager at Baseck Training, one of the fitness studios that offered a class. It focuses on strength and conditioning, as well as post-natal and pre-natal fitness.
“The workout today was amazing,” she marveled. “It just showed a little bit of a glimpse of what we do inside the studio. Inside of the studio, we slow it down just a little bit more. We wear heart rate monitors to make sure everybody works out in their fat-burning zone as well.”
Cooper University Health Care was the premier sponsor of the fair. One of its doctors performed screenings for oral cancer and melanoma behind a pop-up tent, and other hospital representatives handed out pamphlets on swimming and bike-riding safety for children.
Several tables set up at the fair provided advice on nutrition, one featuring dietician Katie Ragusa of Vita Nutrition Services.
“We’re out here teaching about building snacks, balanced snacks that are going to get you energized and full,” she explained, “and people have really seemed to enjoy it.”
Public safety was also a topic at the fair. Borough police brought out the bloodhound Blue to educate the public about the K-9 unit, and the Haddonfield Ambulance Association demonstrated one of its vehicles.
In addition to the borough’s own public safety organizations, Moms Demand, a grassroots organization that works to reduce gun violence, also had a table at the fair. Volunteers Lisa Flowers, Julie Vick and Ruth Kravet represented the group’s South Jersey chapter and provided resources for parents on safe gun ownership and storage.
“We’re interested in preserving health, and children are being injured,” Flowers noted. “Just this past week, we had two Philadelphia children, and one in South Jersey, who have been harmed by unsecured guns. We try to partner with other community organizations, because it’s a public health crisis.”
The Haddonfield Lions Club was out to raise awareness about its events and programs to benefit individuals who are blind or have limited vision. They include donating used and refurbished eyeglasses and screening preschoolers in Haddonfield and Cherry Hill for amblyopia, also known as a lazy eye. This year, the Lions screened 625 children.
Richard Eastwick represented the organization at the fair.
“Nearsighted, far-sighted, eyes that aren’t focused, pupils that are not focused, we can pick that up with our special camera,” he explained, “and we then recommend to the parents that your child, who might be 4 or 5 years old, needs to see an eye doctor.”
