Kids at the Bronx-Based Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Take on the Guinness World Record for Jumping Jacks

NEW YORK, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Records are made to be broken and a Guinness World Record was likely shattered thanks to the determination of kids right here in the Bronx. On March 22, more than 150 members of Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club joined their peers from more than 1,000 Boys & Girls Clubs across the country to break the Guinness World Record for the most people doing "jumping jacks" – or "star jumps."  

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110323/DE70301 )

As part of National Boys & Girls Club Week (March 20-26), Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) embarked on this initiative with its Clubs across the country through the organization's Triple Play program. This program, supported by founding sponsor, Coca-Cola, and the Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation, encourages kids to eat healthier, become more physically active and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships.

To break the current record, more than 278 kids needed to complete the attempt. While the official verdict will come from Guinness in a couple of weeks, all indications are that the record has been broken.

"The Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation is committed to improving health in our communities and is proud to help bring the Triple Play program to Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the state," said Mark Wagar, President and CEO, Empire BlueCross BlueShield.. "By helping our kids learn healthy habits at a young age, we can give them the tools they need to live their healthiest, longest lives possible, and maybe even break some records along the way."

"Coca-Cola is proud to support the Triple Play initiative in partnership with the Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation," said Quinton Martin, vice president, community marketing. "Research shows that this program is working – Triple Play is succeeding in getting kids to exercise more, eat a variety of foods and feel good about themselves. We are committed to promoting programs that help children, teens and adults live active, healthy lifestyles."

Nearly one-third of children and teens in the U.S. are obese or overweight, according to multiple studies. Children and adults can avoid these devastating diseases by adopting and maintaining healthy habits early on.

Jumping jacks are called star jumps in some countries, because the arms, legs and head form a five-pointed star. The record is defined as, "the most people star jumping simultaneously at multiple venues for two consecutive minutes," according to Guinness World Records.

About Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club

Responding to community needs, the services provided at the Lucile Palmaro Clubhouse and ten outreach locations are based on the principles of behavioral guidance and are intended to promote the general health, educational advancement, character development and leadership potential of its members. Our responsibility is to provide these 6 to 18 year old boys and girls with the programs and activities that instill a sense of competence, a sense of belonging, and a sense of power and influence. The mission of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club is to improve and enhance the quality of life for all young people, with special emphasis on those who need us most between ages 6-18. Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club exists to assist as many young people as possible to realize and achieve their potential for growth and development and to attain the skills necessary to live and succeed in a complex world

About Triple Play

Triple Play: A Game Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul was launched in 2005 by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services with support from The Coca-Cola Company to encourage kids to eat healthier, become more physically active and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships. A two-year study of more than 2,000 children ages 9-14 showed that Triple Play succeeded in getting them to exercise more, eat healthier foods and feel better about themselves. The study found that Triple Play kids increased to 90 percent of the federally recommended amount of daily exercise, which is 60 minutes a day for children, while their peers outside the program decreased to 78 percent. To date, Triple Play has helped more than one million kids learn the importance of physical activity and proper nutrition. In 2011, the Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation joined BGCA and Coca-Cola as a Triple Play sponsor. Learn more about the program at www.bgca.org/tripleplay.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, the Company's portfolio features 14 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply and Georgia. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate of 1.7 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

About the 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 annual associate giving campaign and its parent foundation provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. To learn more about the Foundation please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org.

SOURCE Empire BlueCross BlueShield Foundation