Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation Awards $163,500 in Grants to Combat Childhood Obesity in Georgia
ATLANTA, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation (AFYF) has awarded six grants totaling $163,500 to nonprofit organizations working to reduce childhood obesity among Georgia's schoolchildren.
The investments include a three-year $120,000 award to Appalachian Community Enterprises (ACE) for two innovative projects designed to provide low-income families with greater access to affordable, healthy food.
With the grant, ACE will partner with Truly Living Well Natural Urban Farms to develop a five-acre fruit and vegetable garden in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward. ACE will also partner with The Food Trust to help independent grocers open grocery stores in neighborhoods where residents currently lack access to fresh produce.
"Our grant investments are moving more Georgia children from sedentary to active lifestyles and bringing more affordable, healthy food to Georgia families," said Penelope McPhee, president of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. AFYF is an affiliated fund of the Blank Family Foundation.
Also part of its childhood obesity initiative, AFYF supported the Blank Family Foundation's September 23 Speaker Series program examining the link between physical fitness, student outcomes and brain development. Visit the Foundation's web site (http://blankfoundation.org/news/SpeakerSeries.html) to view a video of the program.
AFYF's latest round of awards includes grants to:
$15,000 to train 400 staff members from Falcons Fitness Zone grant partners, including Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA staff, to increase their effectiveness at engaging youth in physical activities and play. Playworks will also provide training to 30 – 60 teens to lead games and physical activities at their after-school program sites.
$10,500 to enable the East Lake Farmers Market to accept EBT swipe cards used by low-income families accessing food benefits. With the grant, East Lake Farmers Market will become the seventh farmers market in Georgia to take part in the Wholesome Wave Foundation double-coupon program, where families using EBT cards receive $2 of produce for every $1 spent.
$5,000 to deliver Flipping For Life, a gymnastics instruction and education program to children ages 9 – 12 at the Whitehead Boys & Girls Club in South Atlanta.
$5,000 to deliver the Centre Dance program to K-5 students at Parklane Elementary School in East Point, providing kinesthetic learning activities during and after school.
$5,000 to expand programming through the Mobile Fitness Gym, which brings fitness activities and equipment to youth across Hall County.
$3,000 for the Southeastern United Dairy Association to provide fitness equipment to schools participating in its Fuel Up to Play 60 partnership.
About The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation
Investing across Georgia, the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation helps nonprofit organizations reduce childhood obesity and improve youth fitness. The foundation was established in 1985 to serve as the philanthropic arm of the Atlanta Falcons. Since Arthur Blank acquired the Atlanta Falcons in 2002, the foundation has grown to be the largest owner-funded foundation in the National Football League, providing more than $16 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the state of Georgia.
SOURCE The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation
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