Boys & Girls Clubs in Ohio Awarded Seven New Grants By Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

Anthem 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 the Western Reserve – LeBron James Clubhouse
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland – West Side Club
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve – Steve Wise Club
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo – East Unit
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo – Carson Family Unit
• Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown
• Boys & Girls Club of Dayton West

"After-school hours are such an important time for health and activity for Ohio's kids," said Erin Hoeflinger, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio.  "With colder weather around the corner and sunset coming earlier, we all need to work to fill kids' afternoons and weekends with constructive games, healthy eating and active play that will build lifelong healthy habits.

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, Anthem 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).

"Year after year we experience tremendous adoption of our Triple Play programs, and thanks to continued support from our partner Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation we are able to bring Triple Play to even more Clubs across the country," said Dr. Jennifer Bateman, national vice president for programs, training and youth development with BGCA. "The new grants in Ohio will create a healthy environment where our youth can thrive, and the funds will have a lasting impact on the kids and teens served by these Clubs."

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is committed to improving health and strengthening Ohio communities. Through its Healthy Generations grant program, Anthem 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 Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's parent company foundation to BGCA to promote healthy lifestyles.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,200 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually 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, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize 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 http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation
Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield 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. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130710/MM44829-b

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Related Links

http://www.bgca.org