Youth Service America and UnitedHealth Group Offer 'HEROES' Grants to Fight Childhood Obesity
November 25 2008 - 5:59PM
PR Newswire (US)
Administered by Youth Service of America, UnitedHealth HEROES
offering grants of up to $1,000 to fund youth-led, service-learning
literacy projects focused on childhood obesity WASHINGTON, Nov. 25
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) has
partnered with Youth Service of America (YSA) to launch
UnitedHealth Heroes, a new program that offers grants of up to
$1,000 to support teachers, service-learning coordinators and
students in the health professions to engage children and youth
ages 5 to 25 to volunteer in leading service-learning projects
focused on childhood obesity. Grants will be awarded to projects
that demonstrate a clear understanding of the health risks
associated with pediatric obesity; propose creative solutions to
combating obesity in their schools and communities; and can be
easily implemented, scaled, and measured. YSA, which will
administer the program, encourages applicants to extend their
projects over the course of a semester and culminate their
activities in a celebration during Global Youth Service Day (GYSD),
April 24-26, 2009. A service-learning module - a manual that
provides guidance and resources to children and youth who are
leading projects around pediatric obesity and healthful living -
will be available. Research shows that service-learning projects
(community service integrating curriculum-based learning) that last
approximately 70 hours, spanning a school semester, provide
opportunities for youth to maximize their learning potential by
giving them the appropriate time to plan, research, take action,
and reflect on their work while having a positive impact on their
communities. (For more information about planning service-learning
projects, download the YSA Semester of Service Strategy Guide at
http://www.ysa.org/semester.) "YSA commends UnitedHealth Group for
recognizing the power of children and youth in addressing important
problems such as childhood obesity," said Steve Culbertson, YSA's
President and CEO. "Young people have enormous potential to
encourage healthful habits among their peers." According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 30 percent of
young people are obese and 60 percent have at least one avoidable
risk for heart disease. YSA and UnitedHealth Group know that health
literacy programs that promote balanced diets and active lifestyles
for children are crucial towards reversing this trend. Schools and
youth-focused community organizations in the following states are
eligible to apply for grants: -- Alabama -- Arizona -- California
-- Colorado -- Florida -- Illinois -- Indiana -- Maryland -- New
Jersey -- New York -- North Carolina -- Ohio -- Pennsylvania --
South Carolina -- Tennessee To obtain a grant application, visit
http://www.ysa.org/awards and click on the "Grants and Awards" tab;
then click on "UnitedHealth HEROES." The Web site also contains
more information about the program and resources for gathering
information on the risk factors associated with pediatric obesity.
Applications must be submitted online before midnight Thursday,
Jan. 15, 2009. Grant recipients will be notified in February 2009.
For more information, email . UnitedHealth Group
(http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/) is a diversified health and
well-being company dedicated to making health care work better.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a
broad spectrum of products and services through six operating
businesses: UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice, OptumHealth,
Ingenix, and Prescription Solutions. Through its family of
businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 70 million
individuals nationwide. Youth Service America seeks to improve
communities by increasing the number and diversity of children and
youth, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles. Founded in 1986,
YSA is an international nonprofit resource center that partners
with thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries to
expand the impact of the youth service movement with families,
communities, schools, corporations, and governments. For more
information, visit http://www.ysa.org/. Global Youth Service Day is
the largest youth service event in the world and is a year-round
effort to expand the impact of the youth service movement. The
initiative launches new service organizations, policy changes, and
sustainable service programs to create a culture of engaged youth.
State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor in the
United States. Planning Tool Kits, Service-Learning Curriculum
Guides, Classroom Posters, Micro-Finance Grants, and more are
available for youth, parents, teachers, and organizations.
DATASOURCE: Youth Service America CONTACT: Brandon Gryde of Youth
Service America, +1-202-296-2992 ext. 128, Web Site:
http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/ http://www.ysa.org/
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