Establishing a Child Health Project for Obesity Prevention

Grantee Name

Catholic Charities of Onondaga County

Funding Area

Special Projects Fund

Publication Date

July 2008

Grant Amount

$150,000

Grant Date:

January 2007 – December 2007

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Obesity in young people is an epidemic in the United States.

Catholic Charities of Onondaga County has a long-term commitment to improving the health and well-being of school-age children and youth (ages five through 18) by engaging them in an after-school and summer program called Kids WIN! The multi-year program provides activities that are fun and information to help shape children’s understanding, choices, and behavior related to nutrition and fitness.

Outcomes and Lessons Learned

Kids WIN! engaged more than 1,000 children in four, eight-week after-school sessions that taught them about the food pyramid and proper meal portions, how to read and understand nutrition labels on foods they typically consume, and how to identify healthy snack choices.
The coordinators conducted workshops open to parents, teachers, health care professionals, youth workers, coaches, and volunteers on how to motivate children and teens to create healthy lifestyles.
Kids WIN! staff members worked to implement nutrition and physical activity curriculum to their existing after-school and summer programs in the five community centers, providing two hours of curriculum weekly at each site.

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