The inspiration to conceptualize and make POS Fest '08 a reality came from the experiences of Rakia McDonald, a local community advocate who is very passionate about the totality of healthy living. Eager to learn about inexpensive health and peace alternatives, Rakia diligently searched the metro area in order to identify healthy lifestyle options that met her unique needs, goals and interest. Overtime, it became quite clear to Rakia that there were multiple shareholders within the community (Businesses, Civic Organizations and Individuals) that were concerned about the physical, spiritual and nutritional health of DC residents. Rakia was able to engage in a dialogue with fellow health programs and health enthusiasts that worked to empower individuals to discover and pursue happy and healthy lifestyles. These discussions proved beneficial, provided her with practical strategies and support system that led to greater health, happiness and inner peace.

Later, as a dance teacher, Rakia began to ask her students and her peers a range of questions related to health, happiness and peace. Several themes emerged from her conversations:

• Stress was identified a common problem among the students and they lacked strategies to appropriately address the various stressors they encountered;
• Rakia's peers struggled to identify themselves as "happy" or "at peace" and could only identify themselves in terms of perceived success in school or work:
• The pathway to health, happiness and peace seemed to be different for each individual; however everyone struggled in finding the pathway and support systems didn't seem to exist to help;
• Individuals didn't seem to prioritize themselves and there own happiness.

Rakia findings from these informal discussions with youth and her peers were disturbing. Why is it that she found so much success in identifying economical community-based approaches to healthy living and others were struggling to do so? At this point, it was clear that there was a desperate need for community education and empowerment related to health, happiness and peace.

As a result, Rakia founded POSitivity Fest. POS Fest is built around a mission of inspiring the DC Community to pursue their interests, create bonds with their communities, and develop a lifelong passion for healthy choices. Striving for success, and with the encouragement of local families, businesses, foundations and other supporters, POS Fest has grown significantly, adding a number of volunteers, generous donations, and valuable sponsors. Throughout this growth, POS Fest's core approach remains the same: to enable this community to develop as leaders and learners as they pursue a personal interest in the need for a happy and healthy lifestyle.

Active Health

Physical inactivity is prevalent in the District. In 2000, 20.8 percent of residents reported no physical activity on the BRFSS. This figure showed a substantial decrease in physical inactivity from 1998, when 38.5 percent reported no physical activity.