Boys & Girls Clubs in New York Awarded Nine New Grants By the Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Boys & Girls Clubs of America is reinforcing its commitment the health and wellness of children and teens in New York, thanks to $45,000 in Triple Play grants from Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation. Triple Play is Boys & Girls Clubs of America's leading healthy lifestyles program, making a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of kids and teens during the critical after-school time at Boys & Girls Clubs around the country.

The Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation will be issuing the Triple Play grants to the following Clubs to encourage healthy eating and physical activities for Club members:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Mosholu Montefiore Community Center
• USAG Fort Hamilton CYS Services- Fort Hamilton Youth Center/Boys & Girls Clubs
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany-Delaware Avenue Unit
• Boys & Girls Club of Metro Queens, Inc.-South Queens Boys & Girls Club, Inc.
• Kips Bay Boys & Girls Clubs- Lucille Palmaro Clubhouse
• Children's Aid Society- CAS-East Harlem Boys & Girls Club
• Madison Square Boys & Girls Club-Thomas S. Murphy Clubhouse
• Madison Square Boys & Girls Club-Navy Yard Boys & Girls Club, Inc.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Northtowns-Town Clubhouse

"At Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, we understand the important role of after school programs that encourage children and teens to be more active and consume healthier foods during out-of-school hours," said Jack Stephenson, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicaid Plan President. "With New York youth back to school, we are excited to continue our support of the Triple Play program that educates and motivates youth to get active and develop healthy habits that lead to a great 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 encourage Club members to eat healthier (mind), become more physically active (body) and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships (soul).

"Boys & Girls Clubs of America is focused on providing programs that are designed to make a lasting impact during the critical after-school hours and beyond," said Dr. Jennifer Bateman, national vice president for programs, training and youth development with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Thanks to the Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation this grant will create a healthy environment where youth across New York can adopt a healthy lifestyle that will positively influence their physical, social and intellectual wellness for years to come.

Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is committed to improving health and strengthening communities. Through its Healthy Generations grant program, the Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation works to identify the issues most in need of attention and then directs its financial support and volunteer efforts toward improving health in those areas. Promoting youth health and active lifestyles is an ongoing focus of the foundation.

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

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, 4,300 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 at 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

Related Links

http://www.bgca.org