General Mills Launches Round of Grants to Help Kids Eat Healthy and Stay Physically Fit

MINNEAPOLIS–(EMWNews)–The General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids Program recently awarded a

half-million dollars in grants to 50 community-based organizations

across the U.S. with unique programs focused on youth nutrition and

fitness.

Each of the non-profits, schools or other organizations received a

$10,000 grant for programs that incorporate a fitness and nutrition

component, and operate with the guidance of a dietetic professional.

Grant recipients this year traveled to General Mills corporate

headquarters in Minneapolis for a two-day workshop to share and learn

best practices for operating their programs.

The Champions for Healthy Kids initiative is a partnership of the

General Mills Foundation, the American Dietetic Association Foundation

(ADAF) and the President’s Council on Physical

Fitness. Since 2002, General Mills has invested more than $11 million

in overall youth nutrition and fitness programs that have served more

than 2 million children nationwide.

This year’s grant recipients serve a broad

spectrum of children cutting across racial, ethnic, geographic and

economic lines. They include:

• The Spirit Lake Tribe Special Diabetes Program in Fort Totten, N. D.,

  which targets American Indian girls between the ages of 11 and 15. The

  cardiovascular education program is designed to improve students’

  heart health, increase endurance and provide exposure to a variety of

  aerobic exercises. Students also learn how to maintain a healthy

  weight and cook healthy foods. The Spirit Lake Reservation is a small,

  rural community in northeast North Dakota.

• The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network’s

  health and fitness initiative called Families, Food, and Fun, which

  provides low-income families in Verona, Va., with training to improve

  nutrition and overall health. Families learn about food selection,

  preparation, nutrition, physical fitness as well as basic life skills.

  Parents learn in the classroom along with their children. In addition,

  the program supplies each family with basic cookware, healthy recipes

  and sports equipment.

• The Champions for Kids with Disabilities: A Physical Activity and

  Nutrition Education Mentoring Program offered through the University

  of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The program serves disabled young people

  between the ages of 5-18 by pairing them with mentors who help teach

  them how to live a healthy lifestyle through physical activity and

  nutrition education.

• City Harvest’s health and fitness program in

  New York is a unique blend of learning, investigation and performance.

  The Fresh Beat: Youth Nutrition, Film, and Movement Project, aims to

  increase physical activity in young people from ages 12-18. The

  program incorporates nutrition, cooking and fitness for young adults.

  Students also create both a movement-based performance piece and a

  documentary film that explore food, fitness, and environmental factors

  that effect overall physical health.

“Each year, we’re

honored to help support some of the nation’s

best and most innovative programs that focus on the important work of

teaching children how to live healthy and active lifestyles,”

said Ellen Goldberg Luger, executive director of the General Mills

Foundation and a General Mills vice president. “We

know from numerous studies that a child’s

diet and level of activity affects his or her school performance, mental

and emotional well- being and long-term physical health.”

An additional component of the Champions for Healthy Kids program

includes sponsorship of the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards (PALA)

in Minneapolis and other select cities as well as the development of

nutrition and fitness mentoring models.

In May, General Mills launched the Healthy Communities grants program in

Washington, D.C. when the company, in conjunction with the Washington

D.C. Mayor’s Commission on Food and

Nutrition, announced the first four recipients of $100,000 in grants.

The program is being piloted in Washington, D.C., which has one of the

highest rates of childhood obesity in the nation.

Information on the General Mills Champions program, grant applications,

best practices and model programs that can be adopted by any

organization are available at www.generalmills.com/foundation.

Additional information on the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards can

be found at www.presidentschallenge.org

The American Dietetic Association Foundation is the philanthropic arm of

American Dietetic Association. It is a 501(c)(3) charity devoted

exclusively to nutrition and dietetics. The Foundation funds

scholarships and awards, education and research projects, and ADA

strategic initiatives that promote optimal nutrition health and

well-being of the public. It is the largest provider of scholarships and

awards in the field of dietetics.

The mission of the General Mills Foundation, celebrating more than 50

years of giving, is to nourish communities. In fiscal 2007, General

Mills awarded $82 million to communities across the country,

representing more than 5 percent of company pretax profits that year. Of

the total, the Foundation contributed more than $20 million in grants in

the targeted areas of youth nutrition and fitness, social services,

education, and arts and culture.

Major Newsire & Press Release Distribution with Basic Starting at only $19 and Complete OTCBB / Financial Distribution only $89

Get Unlimited Organic Website Traffic to your Website 
TheNFG.com now offers Organic Lead Generation & Traffic Solutions