Boys & Girls Clubs In West Virginia Awarded New Grants By The UniCare 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

Dec 04, 2018, 10:00 ET

CHARLESTON, W.Va., Dec. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Through Triple Play, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the UniCare 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 $10,000 in Triple Play grants from the UniCare Foundation, more youth will have access to health and wellness programming in West Virginia.

Through the partnership, Boys & Girls Clubs in West Virginia have made significant strides enabling youth to reach their full potential as healthy, productive adults. When comparing West Virginia Club kids to national youth averages, for example, 83 percent of club youth eat more than two servings of fruit per day, compared to 32 percent of youth nationally.

Thanks to the UniCare Foundation, the following clubs will receive grants to implement the Triple Play program:

Boys & Girls Club of Parkersburg
John W. Hereford Boys & Girls Club of Huntington

"At the UniCare Foundation we are working to ensure West Virginia youth have an opportunity to live a healthier life," said Tadd Haynes, president, UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia. "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 the UniCare 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.

"The UniCare 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 West Virginia youth in all communities statewide to develop the healthy habits, and social and emotional skills to lead a healthy lifestyle for life."

Through Triple Play, the UniCare 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, the UniCare 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, 4,300 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 on Facebook and Twitter.

About the UniCare Foundation
The UniCare Foundation is the philanthropic arm of UniCare Health Plan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem, Inc. Together, with local, regional and national organizations, the UniCare Foundation works to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that UniCare Health Plan and its affiliated health plans serve. UniCare Foundation funding is focused on strategic initiatives working to address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative with five areas of focus: Healthy Heart, Cancer Prevention, Healthy Maternal Practices, Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, and Healthy Active Lifestyle. These disease states and medical conditions 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 which provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. To learn more about the UniCare Foundation, please visit www.anthemcorporateresponsibility.com.

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America