 Welcome to the webpage for the OPTIONS Health Promotion Program sponsored by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The OPTIONS program is funded through a grant from the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and represents an outreach to the Charleston County School District (CCSD) through a partnership involving MUSC, the Charleston County Community Education Program, and a community service group called the DAE Foundation. MUSC and the DAE Foundation will partner with the Charleston County Community Education Kaleidoscope After School Program to provide physical fitness and nutrition education along with physical training with a goal of preventing obesity, enhancing knowledge of healthy nutrition and physical activities, and promoting physical fitness.
The MUSC effort will feature collaboration between the MUSC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology under the direction of Dr. Roger Newman  along with contributions from our university nutrition program led by Janet Carter, M.S., R.D., L.D., Greer Gowan, R.D., and the exercise specialist from the MUSC Harper Student Center, Janis Newton. The DAE Foundation is a community service organization which offers the Basketball Basics 101 Training Program. The DAE Foundation's director is Jermel President and James Leung is Director of Program Development. The DAE Foundation believes athletics is a valuable tool to teach youth to follow healthy lifestyle choices and serve as an incentive to stay in school and focus on academics. The mission of the DAE Foundation is to educate and train students to be skilled, effective, and responsible citizens, students and athletes; to train and educate student athletes across gender, cultural and religious backgrounds; and to remove impediments to development for those who are economically disadvantaged or underserved. The DAE Foundation and MUSC will partner with the Kaleidoscope program. The Kaleidoscope  is an after school program offered as part of the Charleston County School district's Community Education Program, funded by the CCSD and Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission. Kaleidoscope is offered to elementary school children in 34 Charleston County schools, including 34 Charleston County schools, including three in District 20, which represents peninsular Charleston. The program offers a variety of contracted after school activities including tutoring, study skills, enrichment programs, field trips, recreation, and other physical activities. There is believed to be a deficiency in the current curriculum in terms of nutrition and dietary instruction as well as formalized instruction in physical fitness. The opportunity for students to participate in a formal and disciplined basketball skills training program, as offered by the DAE Foundation, is also believed to be an additional benefit that will enhance the Kaleidoscope program. The OPTIONS program will be integrated into the 2008-2009 curriculum of the Kaleidoscope program at selected Charleston County elementary schools. | 
