Kaiser Permanente Awards $28,000 in Grants for THINK Together Healthy Living Programs
Riverside, California (PRWEB) January 21, 2014 -- Kaiser Permanente has awarded THINK Together’s Healthy Living Programs in the Inland Empire a total of $28,000 in grants. The grants are part of Kaiser Permanente’s social mission to help eliminate health disparities and build healthier communities.
Kaiser Permanente Riverside awarded THINK Together a $20,000 grant to initiate Healthy Living Programs in 16 elementary schools in Moreno Valley, Val Verde, Lake Elsinore and Nuview Union School Districts and to also support existing middle school Healthy Living Programs in those districts.
"Kaiser Permanente supports a healthy school environment for healthy eating and active living," said Vita Willett, Executive Director, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals/Health Plan Riverside Area. “The partnership with THINK Together is part of our total health strategy to build healthy communities through collaboration.”
The Network for Healthy Living California will collaborate with THINK Together in Riverside to support the Healthy Living Program by providing curriculum like Harvest of the Month and Power Play as well as training support for THINK Together staff.
Kaiser Permanente Fontana and Ontario Medical Centers also supported THINK Together by awarding a $8,000 grant to support Healthy Living Programs in Redlands and Rialto middle schools, which expands the Healthy Living Program into San Bernardino County.
“Kaiser Permanente has a social mission to care for the communities we serve,” said Greg Christian, Executive Director, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals/Health Plan, San Bernardino County Area. “Providing resources to programs that improve the health of our communities and their residents is central to this mission. We are pleased to work with strong partners such as THINK Together.”
During the Healthy Living Program students participate in weekly activities that engage them in a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity three days a week. The program introduces them to fruits and vegetables and provides opportunities for students to practice making healthy living choices, including using food labels to compare the nutritional value of food.
Students track their physical activity in notebooks including steps taken using pedometers. Differences in student recorded data on pre and post assessments are examined to determine if they made significant improvement in physical conditioning. Students also gain an increased knowledge of healthy living habits.
"This support from Kaiser Permanente will provide the means necessary to improve students' attitudes about healthy living. Healthy students are better equipped to learn and be productive at school. THINK Together’s goal is to have Healthy Living Programs organization wide, grants like these make that goal more attainable," said Erin Brinker, THINK Together Executive Director for the Inland Empire.
About Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Program
Kaiser Permanente’s Community Benefit program is committed to improving the health of the communities we serve and reducing health disparities through community partnerships with the safety net of community clinics, public health departments, public hospitals, and other agencies. Community Benefit also helps increase access to quality health care and coverage, regardless of income, through our charity care and charitable coverage programs; supports community groups to inspire people to make positive changes for health through our Healthy Eating Active Living programs and Community Health Initiatives; and shares our medical knowledge, expertise and research to help Southern California people live healthier lives. For more info, visit http://community.kp.org.
Kaiser Permanente’s San Bernardino County Service Area has provided comprehensive, affordable health care to the Inland Empire for 70 years and serves approximately 450,000 members. The San Bernardino County Service Area includes the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals in Fontana and Ontario, and medical offices in Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Colton, Claremont, Montclair, Chino, San Bernardino, Victorville, Redlands and Upland.
About THINK Together
THINK Together is a nonprofit education organization that partners with schools and school districts to support systems, mostly for low-income students, in order to close the achievement gap and has grown into the state’s largest provider of Extended Learning Time programs, (early literacy, after-school, summer learning, etc.). THINK Together currently serving more than 100,000 students at more than 442 locations across 41 school districts from San Diego to Sacramento. Partnering with school administrators and teachers, its academic programs and dedicated team of 3,000 employees are helping students close the achievement gap. THINK is an acronym: Teaching, Helping, Inspiring & Nurturing Kids. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit http://www.THINKtogether.org
Kathleen Sanchez, THINK Together, http://www.thinktogether.org/, +1 (714) 543-8807 Ext: 8163, [email protected]
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