Empowering Healthy Kids Blog

To encourage kids to explore the great outdoors:

With a unique blend of talent and resources, the National Park Service, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation are focusing on a national epidemic – childhood obesity.

A grant of $200,000 over two years will pilot a multi-dimensional program expected to eventually span the entire length of the 469 mile long Blue Ridge Parkway.

The objective is to engage children and their families in activities that increase physical activity, improve nutritional choices, and increase awareness of the Blue Ridge Parkway as a recreational resource. The program will pilot initially in the Asheville, spearheaded by Olson Huff, M.D., who has a distinguished career in children’s health. He also co-chairs the Task Force on Obesity and Nutrition of the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission. Huff, the NPS, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation have convened a regional advisory board to maximize the program’s effectiveness with Dr. Huff serving as board chairman.

Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis sees the national implications. “Our national parks have always been destinations for the expression of physical activity in unique environments. There is a lot of interest in our program across the [National Park] Service and our staff is excited about the prospect of a national model.”

This entry (Permalink) was posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 11:06 am and is filed under usa, funding, getting active. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.