Action for Healthy Kids and CSX Announce Every Kid Healthy
Grants for 2015-2016 School Year
Funds will advance health and wellness initiatives in
schools and increase physical activity among students
CHICAGO (March 17, 2015) - Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK)
and CSX today announced the call for applications for Every Kid Healthy Grants
for the 2015-2016 school year. Nearly 300 grants will be awarded to schools to
support increasing physical activity and promoting nutrition initiatives.
Every Kid Healthy Grants will range from $500 to $2,500 to
provide funding for physical activity, including facilities and equipment for
recess, playgrounds and play spaces, classroom energizers, physical education,
and walking and running clubs. Grants may also be used to fund nutrition
initiatives to help schools work towards healthy schools certification
programs. The Every Kid Healthy Grants are part of $1.4 million in grants for school
breakfast and physical activity to be awarded by AFHK in the 2015-2016 school
year.
"Study after study shows that kids who get regular
physical activity experience improvements not just in their fitness levels but
in brain function and behavior - yet funding for physical education continues
to decline in schools," said Rob Bisceglie, CEO of Action for Healthy
Kids. "The support we get from CSX recognizes the positive impact of
physical activity on children's health and preparedness to learn, and helps to
fill a gap in the national resources provided to schools for wellness
initiatives."
For the 2014-2015 school year, CSX funded 287 AFHK grants to
increase students' physical activity time, improve attitudes and behaviors, and
engage parents in supporting activity at school and at home. Schools currently
in the Active Kids Campaign are reporting an average of 55 minutes of physical
activity per day among more than 143,000 students. CSX also supports AFHK's
advancement of physical activity and nutrition initiatives in an additional
5,000 schools around the country, and hosts "Get in the Action"
service events throughout the year where CSX employees volunteer at select
schools to improve physical activity environments.
"Our partnership with Action for Healthy Kids has
enabled us to share CSX's focus on health and wellness with kids and families
in the communities where we work and live, while also involving CSX employees
along the way," explained Tori Kaplan, Assistant Vice President of
Corporate Social Responsibility. "We are proud to support physical
activity programs that help students be better prepared to learn and succeed in
and out of the classroom, and create a healthy generation of employees,
customers and neighbors for tomorrow."
Interested schools are encouraged to apply online at
www.actionforhealthykids.org/grants through May 1, 2015. To be eligible,
schools must be located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois,
Indiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
or Washington, D.C.
An optional introductory webinar on the Every Kid Healthy
Grants will be hosted by AFHK on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 from 2:00 p.m. until
3:00 p.m. Central Time. Registration is available online at
http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/events/event/287.
About Action for Healthy Kids®
Action for Healthy Kids® is a nationwide grassroots network
that supports school-based healthy eating and physical activity improvements
that increase academic success. With funding opportunities, expert technical
assistance and our flagship program, Game On, we mobilize schools,
administrators and parents to develop healthy school environments for children.
To learn more about the ways our 85,000+ volunteer network is helping to make
Every Kid HealthyT, visit us at www.ActionforHealthyKids.org, on Facebook
(https://www.facebook.com/act4healthykids) and on Twitter
(https://twitter.com/Act4HlthyKids).
About CSX
CSX, based in Jacksonville ,
Florida United States , where nearly
two-thirds of the nation's population resides.
It also links more than 240 short-line railroads and more than 70 ocean,
river and lake ports with major population centers and farming towns
alike. More information about CSX
Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com. Like us on
Facebook (http://facebook.com/OfficialCSX) and follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/CSX).
Contacts:
Loren Fisher-Coleman
Action for Healthy Kids
(312) 878-7672
lcoleman@ActionforHealthyKids.org
Kaitlyn Barrett
CSX Corporate Communications
(904) 359-1037
kaitlyn_barrett@csx.com