More New Partners Announce Commitments at Partnership for a Healthier America's Annual Summit

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Organizations including Bright Horizons, Mercy Housing, and the Learning Care Group today announced commitments at the closing day of the sixth annual Building a Healthier Future Summit convened by the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA). PHA works with its honorary chair former First Lady Michelle Obama and the private sector to create solutions to end the childhood obesity crisis.

The former First Lady also addressed the Summit this afternoon, closing the event's programming with her remarks. As a demonstration of PHA's reach and scale, in addition to the organizations above, today eight college campuses joined PHA's Healthier Campus Initiative. These campuses include California State University, Fresno; Concord University; Coppin State University; Mount Saint Mary's University; SUNY Cobleskill; Tougaloo College; UC Davis; and United Tribes Technical College.

"We are proud to be joined by so many unique partners at this year's summit – totaling nearly 30 new commitments – in our continued effort to help Americans live full, healthy lives," said PHA CEO Lawrence A. Soler. "Our partners continue to prove the value of voluntary change in progressing towards a healthier nation. We know there is more work to be done, but we're energized by this year's commitments and the progress we've made, and we will continue to keep driving toward our mission of ending the childhood obesity epidemic."

Commitments Made on Day 2

Affordable housing leader commits to using innovative design to support a healthier lifestyle for residents

• Mercy Housing, one of the nation's largest non-profit affordable housing organizations, has made a commitment to PHA to incorporate active design into its affordable housing projects, impacting 3,300 housing units. The organization will incorporate space for physical activity in its facilities, offer health-related services and programming and promote healthy eating through such methods as on-site gardens and agriculture programs.

Leading early education and child care providers commit to healthier programming for children across the country

• Bright Horizons, the largest provider of employer-sponsored childcare, which operates more than 750 childcare centers and partners with more than 850 leading employers, has proudly expanded its commitment at this year's Summit. With a renewed focus on physical activity and gardening, nutrition and family engagement, these improvements will reach more than 78,000 children that Bright Horizons serves in locations nationwide.
• Learning Care Group, an early education and care provider for more than 130,000 children across its more than 900 centers and sites, has expanded its commitment made in 2014. In addition to maintaining the commitment elements of its first commitment, Learning Care Group committed to developing physical activity and gardening curriculums to further encourage outdoor and indoor play. The child care provider also committed to phasing out less healthy snacks and food from its menu.

For more information, please contact [email protected].

The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation's youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with—but independent from— former First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! effort. PHA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that is led by some of the nation's most respected health and childhood obesity experts. PHA brings together public, private and nonprofit leaders to broker meaningful commitments and develop strategies to end childhood obesity. Most important, PHA ensures that commitments made are commitments kept by working with unbiased third parties to monitor and and publicly report on the progress our partners are making. For more information about PHA, please visit www.ahealthieramerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews.

CONTACT: Glyn Cozart, 202-905-7616

SOURCE Partnership for a Healthier America

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https://www.ahealthieramerica.org/