BOKS Sponsors Partnership for a Healthier America's Building a Healthier Future Summit

CANTON, Mass., March 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today BOKS (Build Our Kids' Success), a free before-school physical activity program, joins Partnership for a Healthier America's (PHA) "Building a Healthier Future Summit" from March 12-14, 2014 in Washington, D.C.  An initiative of Reebok and the Reebok Foundation, BOKS joins other top companies and powerful leaders in an effort to create a healthier future for our youth.  Kathleen Tullie, BOKS founder and executive director, will address Summit attendees about the growth of BOKS and how it can help provide solutions to America's childhood obesity crisis by showcasing the positive correlation between physical activity and learning.

In the last year, BOKS has made significant strides toward its commitment to PHA to grow the program and help youth embrace healthy habits that will last a lifetime, including:

• Expansion of the BOKS program from 200 schools in 2012 to at least 1,000 schools by 2015, including efforts to reach schools serving low-income populations. Currently, BOKS is in close to 900 schools worldwide.
• Development and utilization of BOKS Burst, a condensed version of the curriculum for teacher use, in partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. BOKS Burst program was distributed in 2013to 14,000 Alliance for a Healthier Generation schools, reaching an estimated two million youth.
• Development of an adaptable school program that schools can use during the school day.
• Online resources to support the growth of BOKS. BOKS has expanded its website to serve as a hub for trainers, and is working to provide additional training via video and webinars.

"With school children having less access to physical activity, it is imperative for the mental and physical well-being of our children that we take responsibility and offer more opportunities for them to get active on a regular basis – not only to create life-long healthy habits, but also to help them perform better in school," said Tullie.  "We are thrilled to sponsor the Partnership for Healthier America's 'Building a Healthier Future Summit,' because it brings together industry leaders who are committed to taking action in creating a healthier future for our youth through resources and programs."

"BOKS has shown leadership in the industry by empowering parents and community leaders to promote healthier habits for our nation's youth through physical activity and learning," said Drew Nannis, chief marketing officer, Partnership for a Healthier America. "We are thrilled to have BOKS join the lineup of sponsors in this this year's Building a Healthier Future Summit and we look forward to continuing our work together in the fight against physical inactivity." 

BOKS aims to help improve kids' academic performance and overall health by promoting physical activity and nutritional knowledge as a way to jump start children's brains and better equip them for learning. To showcase this, Tullie will address Summit attendees on March 14 during the closing session, to engage them in dialogue around the importance of physical activity and its effect on classroom performance. She will also lead the audience through a BOKS physical activity break to experience first-hand how movement can help improve focus and learning.

BOKS, now in close to 900 schools worldwide, was started by a group of moms in 2009 who were inspired by Dr. John Ratey's book Spark, which provides compelling evidence that physical activity will supercharge mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen thinking and enhance memory in kids. A recent NIOST (National Institute on Out-of-School Time) study conducted on behalf of BOKS validates the stance that exercise, especially before school, can have an impact on both classroom performance and behavior. Furthermore, 2013 NIOST results showed children improved significantly more than their peers on assessments of working memory.

The BOKS team has shared the stage with First Lady Michelle Obama to promote the benefits of being active and has forged important alliances with organizations like Let's Move Active Schools, ChildObesity180, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and Partnership for Healthier America.

The two-day "Building a Healthier Future Summit" will bring together philanthropic, government, academia and private sector leaders to discuss real solutions to ending America's childhood obesity crisis. Participants will join breakout sessions focused on health equity and childhood obesity solutions. First Lady Michelle Obama will keynote the event. Leading decision makers and experts from both the private and public sectors will also speak as part of the Summit. For more information about the Summit, visit www.ahealthieramerica.org/summit.

For more information about BOKS and to find out how schools can get involved, visit www.bokskids.org, the BOKS Facebook page or the BOKS Twitter handle.

About BOKS (Build Our Kids' Success)
BOKS, Build Our Kids' Success, an initiative of Reebok and the Reebok Foundation, is a free before-school physical activity program.  BOKS was founded on the principle Active Kids = Active Minds, and was created by a group of moms after reading Dr. John Ratey's book Spark, which states that "exercise is the single most powerful tool that we have to optimize the function of our brains." The goal of the BOKS program is to enhance academic performance and the overall health of kids through physical activity. The program, run by moms, dads, P.E. teachers and all other types of volunteers in local communities, is simple to implement. BOKS is currently in close to 900 schools around the world. To bring BOKS to your community, please visit bokskids.org for more information.

About Partnership for a Healthier America
The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation's youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with—but independent from—First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! effort. PHA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that is led by some of the nation's most respected health and childhood obesity experts. PHA brings together public, private and nonprofit leaders to broker meaningful commitments and develop strategies to end childhood obesity. Most important, PHA ensures that commitments made are commitments kept by working with unbiased third parties to monitor and publicly report on the progress our partners are making. For more information about PHA, please visit www.ahealthieramerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews.

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