Helping Americans Find a Path to Healthier Living

Back to school means a fresh start. New teachers, books and classmates all help kids start the school year off with hope and optimism. It also means that many parents are looking for a safe, fun and healthy environment for their children during the commonly unsupervised and inactive hours of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., often referred to as the “danger zone.”
To support YMCAs’ efforts to become even more effective at strengthening the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health of children and teens -- especially after school -- JCPenney Afterschool awarded 20 YMCAs grants totaling $475,000. These grants will help YMCAs participate in the new national initiative called YMCA “Activate America.”

Activate America is a rigorous, 10-year improvement and community leadership project designed to help YMCAs further fulfill their 152-year charitable mission of improving the health and well-being of all Americans, including children.

“America has unwittingly created an unhealthy society for our children. Lasting change that truly addresses the declining health of our nation needs to be led on the community level. YMCAs have the ability and reach to ignite the development of meaningful solutions that can alter the cycle of physical inactivity, obesity and chronic disease in our nation,” says Kenneth L. Gladish, Ph.D., national executive director, YMCA of the USA, the national resource office for America’s 2,575 YMCAs.

YMCA afterschool programs offer organized activities like basketball, soccer, and swimming so youngsters strengthen their bodies, as well as providing access to computers and homework assistance to help kids develop intellectually.

According to a YMCA survey sponsored by JCPenney Afterschool, children who are not supervised or engaged in structured, afterschool activities are four times more likely to be D students. They’re also three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs, and skip classes at school.

“We thank JCPenney Afterschool for supporting YMCAs in this important work,” says Gladish. “No other organization in the United States is so strongly positioned to help Americans find a path to healthier living. Activate America uniquely combines the YMCA’s historic commitment to health of spirit, mind and body with a bold new vision of YMCA leadership in the 21st century,” added Gladish.

“JCPenney Afterschool is honored to collaborate with YMCA of the USA on behalf of all YMCAs,” says Ed Solczak, director of JCPenney Afterschool. “Our goal for this innovative alliance is to enhance the ability of YMCAs and other providers nationwide to deliver quality programs and services to help youth and their families learn how to lead healthy lifestyles in a fun and engaging way.”

Addressing the health-related behavior of youngsters after school is vital, considering the national obesity crisis related to poor nutrition and lack of physical activity facing millions of children and young adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 9 million overweight children and teens in the United States, a statistic that has more than doubled in the last 20 years.