UnitedHealth Group Awards HEROES Grants to RI Organizations
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The grants are part of the UnitedHealth HEROES program, a service-learning, health literacy initiative designed to encourage young people to create and implement local hands-on programs addressing childhood obesity. Grants were awarded to schools and youth-focused, community-based programs that have demonstrated a clear understanding of the health risks associated with pediatric obesity; proposed creative solutions to fighting obesity in their neighborhoods and communities; and can be easily implemented, scaled and measured. Rhode Island recipients include:
Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland-Lincoln received a $1,000 grant, to support Let’s ride like there’s no tomorrow, a one-day service learning project in April that will allow youth ages 9-14 (co-ed) to participate in a fast paced mountain-biking environment with challenging physical activity.
Boys & Girls Club of Warwick received a $500 grant to implement a new and innovative program called Wanna Play, a program that encourages youth ages 6-12 to increase their overall fitness and health through physical activity and improved nutrition education, while learning the fundamentals of baseball and softball.
Ocean Community YMCA received a $1,000 grant to establish a Youth Wellness Council assembled of students from the YMCA Leaders Club and Chariho High School Interact Club. The group’s focus will be to create a program to address childhood obesity issues in the community. Their focus will be on increasing physical activity in elementary school students and educating students and their families on proper nutrition.
Evan Hanson, Programs Administrator at the Cumberland-Lincoln Boys & Girls Club (BGCCL), said Let’s ride like there’s no tomorrow, a trail ride, was created to raise awareness on childhood obesity. “During the service learning day, we will provide participants with pamphlets about healthy eating habits and encourage exercise and staying active,” he said. “The idea behind this service learning project is to raise the communities interest in our mountain biking program.” Chris Nichols, the vice president of the Cumberland chapter of the New England Mountain Biking Association, will instruct the trail ride that he also hope will also tout the BGCCL’s upcoming spring and summer maintain biking programs. “It should be a great service learning project and overall an excellent period of growth for the program and its reputation of supporting the communities that the BGCCL represents, added Hanson.
Helping Kids Stay Fit
UnitedHealth Group collaborated with Youth Service America (YSA) to develop the UnitedHealth HEROES program. “With UnitedHealth HEROES, we are helping young people take action to improve their overall health and quality of life in a way that’s not only educational, but beneficial for their communities,” said Stephen Farrell Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare of New England. “As people become more aware of health issues through health literacy and advocacy initiatives, they will make positive changes to live better lives.”
More information about the UnitedHealth HEROES program and service-learning is available at www.ysa.org.
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