Boston Celtics shoot hoops with YMCA kids to close third annual Sun Life Fit to Win program

Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk, and Amir Johnson exercise with Fit to Win participants at Celtics Waltham practice facility

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Mar 27, 2017, 09:00 ET

BOSTON and PORTLAND, Maine and HARTFORD, Conn., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Celtics drive toward the completion of an exciting regular season, the team is also proud to announce the successful conclusion of the third annual Sun Life Fit to Win program. This year the program expanded to a third New England city—Hartford, CT—in addition to Portland, ME, and Boston, MA.

Celtics power forward Amir Johnson (L) with Ed Milano, VP, Sun Life Financial, and YMCA youth participants of Sun Life Fit to Win program.

Fit to Win is a four-week community-based program that helps children embrace fitness exercises and healthy lifestyle habits. Each week, with the help of a motivational and instructional video from Celtics mascot Lucky the Leprechaun, the children learned new exercises and health-conscious habits to follow. Throughout each week the children tracked their activities and were rewarded with Celtics-themed prizes. On Saturday, the top ten performers from each city were invited to the Celtics practice facility in Waltham, MA, where they showed off their fitness and court skills to Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk, and Amir Johnson, and listened to the players talk about their favorite ways to eat smart and stay fit.

"It's important to learn healthy habits not only involving levels of exercise and activity but also regarding the healthy habits of everyday life," Johnson said. "This program helps show kids that getting healthy can be fun."

The most popular fitness sequences included High Flyer, which featured various types of squats, and Beast Mode, which combined sets of sit-ups, push-ups, and burpees. The most popular healthy habits were eating fruits and vegetables and drinking water. Numbers were a bit lower when it came to limiting screen time. See the attached infograph for program results.

Sun Life and the Celtics continue their joint efforts in promoting wellness and diabetes prevention to the Greater Boston community. In November 2016, the third annual #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes campaign raised $75,000 for the YMCA of Greater Boston's Diabetes Prevention Program.

"The Celtics and the YMCAs from across the New England area have been phenomenal partners in helping to expand Fit to Win to bring the program to more children," said Dan Fishbein, President, Sun Life Financial U.S. "We are addressing diabetes more aggressively than ever before. Supporting organizations like the YMCA and their programs that teach health and fitness—especially to children—is an important step in combatting the disease. Sun Life invests in diabetes prevention as part of our commitment to building healthier, more sustainable communities."

Sun Life also offers the Team Up Against Diabetes grant program, which supports community organizations around the country that focus on diabetes prevention, diabetes management, obesity prevention, and overall health and wellness. Grant recipients for the 2016 grant program include YMCA of Greater Hartford's Diabetes Prevention Program, Dogs4Diabetics, Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, the Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute, and the Legacy Weight and Diabetes Institute. Grants are awarded in amounts up to $50,000. Applications for the 2017 Team Up Against Diabetes grant program are now available and will be accepted through March 31, 2017. To learn more about the grant program, please visit www.sunlife.com/usgrants.

For more information about the Celtics partnership with Sun Life Financial and about their community involvement, go to www.celtics.com/SunLifeFitToWin and www.sunlife.com/usdiabetes. Next season, stay tuned for November's #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes and Fit to Win 2018.

About the Boston Celtics
A charter member of the Basketball Association of America (which evolved into the National Basketball Association) since 1946, the Boston Celtics have won a record 17 NBA Championships, including eight (8) in a row from 1959–1966, winning their first title in 1957 and their most recent in 2008. The Celtics have long stood for equality, and respect, including hiring the first African American Coach and starting the first all-black starting five. In addition, 35 former Celtics players, management or staff have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In December 2002 the team returned to local ownership for the first time since 1963. For more information on the Celtics, log on to www.celtics.com.

About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of insurance, wealth, and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate Clients. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2016, Sun Life Financial had total assets under management of $903 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium, and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management, Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary and Worksite, and Stop-Loss insurance. This includes the acquisition of Assurant Employee Benefits in Q1 2016. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.