100 Mile Club® FEATURED IN CHILDOBESITY180 GRANT OPPORTUNITY TO REVOLUTIONIZE SCHOOL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move! Active Schools” encourages participation.
Corona, CA– February 28, 2013 – – The 100 Mile Club® is featured in a creative grant opportunity announced today by ChildObesity180’s Active Schools Acceleration Project (ASAP) to get kids moving in America’s schools. ASAP Acceleration Grants totaling $1,000,000 will be awarded to 1,000 schools to implement award-winning and innovative physical activity programs, including the 100 Mile Club®. First Lady Michelle Obama is encouraging schools to apply for a grant through her “Let’s Move! Active Schools” campaign, which also debuts today.
The 100 Mile Club® was one of nine winners named in ASAP’s 2012 Physical Activity Innovation Competition. ASAP Acceleration Grants are now giving schools across America the resources they need – seed funding, training, and support – to replicate The 100 Mile Club® and other great models. Each program offers a fun and flexible approach to school-based physical activity, ensuring a match for schools of all types, sizes, and in all geographies.
The 100 Mile Club® provides students with the opportunity to run or walk 100 miles at school during a single school year improving school readiness to learn, creating better educational outcomes, building self-esteem and the overall health of children. With incentives given along the way, including a unique milestone t-shirt, lessons in goal-setting, determination, and team spirit are delivered alongside exercise.
Research demonstrates that physically active kids do better academically and behaviorally, and schools are a great place for boosting children’s physical activity. Teachers, parents, coaches and other school wellness “champions” who are ready to take a leadership role in bringing physical activity to their school are encouraged to apply for an ASAP Acceleration Grant. Applications will be accepted through April 22, 2013. For more information, visit www.ActiveSchoolsASAP.org.
“With the support of the Active Schools Acceleration Project and Obesity180 we are winning the battle on childhood obesity and inactivity one child, one school, and one community at a time” said Kara Lubin, founder of The 100 Mile Club®.
Christina D. Economos, PhD, Vice-Chair and Director of ChildObesity180, Associate Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and a leading researcher in the field of childhood obesity prevention, says, “ASAP’s Acceleration Grants program takes innovative and scalable programs and makes them available to schools nationwide with seed funding, training, and support.”
About The 100 Mile Club
Inspired by the 1992 Summer Olympics, special education teacher Kara Lubin used the universal dream of becoming a gold medalist to inspire her hard-to-motivate students. That year, The 100 Mile Club was born from a simple idea — run 100 miles within the school year and earn a gold medal. The 100 Mile Club teaches children how to exercise safely, instill fun and healthy habits that will last a lifetime. Physical activity is important to children’s health and learning. For children, physical activity is linked to improved readiness to learn, better educational outcomes, and improved health.
About ChildObesity180
Active Schools Acceleration Project (ASAP) is an initiative of ChildObesity180, an organization committed to cross-sector collaboration to reverse the trend of childhood obesity. The ChildObesity180 membership is comprised of national leaders from the public, nonprofit, academic, and private sectors who are using their reach and expertise to drive an integrated national strategy to prevent childhood obesity. The organization is chaired by Peter Dolan, former CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Leading Tufts University childhood obesity and nutrition researcher Dr. Christina Economos serves as vice-chair and director, and Dr. Miriam Nelson, a Professor at the Friedman School, is the co-director. Founded in 2009, ChildObesity180 is conducted in collaboration with Tufts University. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the JPB Foundation are strategic funders. For more information about ChildObesity180 and the Active Schools Acceleration Project, please visit www.ChildObesity180.org.
