The Recipients | Childhood Obesity
The following organizations have received childhood obesity grants:
Children's Hospital Boston
In 2011, $7 million dollars was awarded to establish The New Balance Foundation Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention, Clinical Research and Care at Children's Hospital Boston. The newly established Center will address the obesity epidemic on multiple fronts, answering key research questions, collecting outcome data and devising weight-control strategies that serve low-income children and families. Children’s Hospital has long offered a broad spectrum of programs for overweight children, from toddlers to teens. The comprehensive services of the New Balance Foundation Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention will aim to help kids reach and maintain healthy weight and halt the onset of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other health threats. Its primary goal is to prevent childhood obesity by encouraging healthy food, lifestyle and exercise habits, and by supporting research-tested, successful weight-loss approaches. The Center is directed by David Ludwig, MD, PhD, a pioneering scientist and obesity warrior in the public health campaign to tackle children’s overweight issues. The Center will convene regular meetings to ensure that important research findings and successful practices reach a national and international audience.
For more information about this gift, please read the press release (.pdf).
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Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
The New Balance Foundation made a ten year commitment to Tufts in a far-reaching initiative called "Children in Balance" to combat childhood obesity and improve the long-term health of future generations. This grant funds leadership positions in the areas of research, scholarship, advocacy, training, program-testing and evaluation, and information dissemination. More specifically, the childhood obesity initiative will deepen understanding of effective ways to positively influence dietary and physical activity patterns among children and their caregivers. The mission of Children in Balance is to reverse and prevent childhood obesity utilizing advanced scientific research that will empower individuals and communities to catalyze social change.
The gift also created the New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition, as well as three endowed graduate fellowships. With this ten year commitment, Tufts University was able to significantly enhance programs and competencies in childhood nutrition, allowing for growth in research, scholarship, advocacy, training, program testing and evaluation, as well as dissemination efforts. Their aim over the next ten years is to establish a balance between scientific rigor and health action towards the end of improving children's health, both now and in the future.
For more information on Tufts nutrition program, click here.
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Boston Medical Center
The New Balance Foundation awarded a large grant to support children and their families who are overweight or at risk for being overweight. With this funding, the Boston Medical Center (BMC) created the "Nutrition and Fitness for Life Program" to help children and their families make broad improvements in fitness and nutrition through physical activity, behavior modification, education and assessment of contributory medical factors. The Foundation is also the lead underwriter of BMC's "FANtastic Kids," a ten-week after-school nutrition, education and physical activity program for 8 to 13 year-olds.
For more information, please read the BMC Press Release (.pdf).
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Girls on the Run
Girls on the Run is a non-profit prevention program that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. The curricula addresses all aspects of girls' development, including their physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual well-being.
Girls on the Run International (GOTRI) is the parent organization of more than 160 Girls on the Run councils across the United States and Canada. GOTRI creates, trains and supports a network of community-level councils with local volunteers.
Since 2008, New Balance Foundation has helped strengthen and grow GOTR through a council grant program. NBF offers Capacity Building Grants aimed at councils who are well positioned to grow sites within their council. Scholarship grants will also be awarded to councils that serve communities with underserved populations. The program is currently run at Hill House in Boston, MA, right in our backyard.
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