Boys & Girls Clubs In New York Awarded New Grants By Empire Blue Cross And Blue Shield Foundation

Grants provide $5,000 to each Club to improve health & wellness factors among youth to create healthier future generations

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Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Nov 14, 2018, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Through Triple Play, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation are delivering education and programming that promote the importance of physical activity and proper nutrition, and enable youth to build the skills needed to overcome environmental factors that can negatively impact health and wellness. Thanks to $40,000 in Triple Play grants from Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, more youth will have access to health and wellness programming in New York.

Through the partnership, Boys & Girls Clubs in New York have made significant strides in enabling youth to reach their full potential as healthy, productive adults. When comparing New York Club members to national youth averages, for example, 65 percent of Club youth eat more than two servings of fruit per day, compared to 32 percent of youth nationally.

Thanks to Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, the following Clubs will receive grants to implement the Triple Play program:

Boys & Girls Clubs of Harlem
Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany
Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Queens
Columbus Clubhouse
Joel E. Smilow Clubhouse
Navy Yard Boys & Girls Club
Thomas S. Murphy Clubhouse

"At Empire, we understand the important role that health and wellness programs play in ensuring youth have an opportunity to live a healthier life," said Jack Stephenson, Empire Medicaid Plan President. "Through our Foundation, we are taking a proactive approach to adolescent health that takes into consideration social and environmental factors that impact well-being, and providing access to resources and support that foster greater awareness about the benefits of leading a healthier lifestyle that can positively impact their future."

As Boys & Girls Clubs of America's proven health and wellness program, Triple Play is a game plan for the mind, body and soul. Supported by founding sponsor The Coca-Cola Company and co-sponsor Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, the program's three components deliver on the belief that whole child health fosters young people's ability to gain diverse knowledge, skills, and protective factors that enable them to overcome barriers to wellness, resulting in positive future health outcomes.

"Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's continued support of Triple Play has enabled us to continuously build and implement a whole child development approach," said Jennifer Bateman, National Vice President of Youth Development Programs for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Through the partnership, we're enabling New York youth in all communities statewide to develop the healthy habits, and social and emotional skills to lead a healthy lifestyle for life."

Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is committed to improving health and strengthening communities. Over the summer, the Foundation awarded Madison Square Boys & Girls Clubs with a $25,000 grant to expand the Triple Play program for New York City youth.

Through Triple Play, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation aims to create positive outcomes for youth, families and communities that are sustained over time. Together, the partnership seeks to level the playing field to enable all youth to achieve great futures.

The Triple Play grants are part of a five-year, $10 million commitment to Boys & Girls Clubs of America from The Anthem Foundation, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's parent company.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, 4,400 Clubs serve 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more on Facebook and Twitter.

About Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation
Through charitable grant making, the Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation and the Empire BlueCross Foundation, trade names of the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation L.L.C., independent licensees of the BlueCross BlueShield Association, serving residents and businesses in the 28 eastern and southeastern counties of New York State, promotes Empire's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Empire serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Associate Giving program and its parent foundation provides a 50 percent match of associates' pledges.

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America