Boys & Girls Club Kids Around The Country Race To Log One Million Minutes Of Jumping, Leaping And Playing To Stay Fit This Summer With Triple Play

LOS ANGELES, July 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an effort get kids active this summer, Boys & Girls Clubs around the country will host stops for the Triple Play 'Million Minutes in Motion' mobile tour, with a goal of logging one million minutes of exercise with kids this summer. The tour kicked off this week in California, visiting Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley and the Challengers Boys & Girls Club in Los Angeles. The mobile tour will travel to more than 20 cities, visiting Boys & Girls Clubs along the way to reach the goal of one million minutes.

Sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company and WellPoint Foundation and its affiliate state brands, the mobile tour is part of Triple Play, Boys & Girls Clubs of America's national signature health and wellness program. With more than 3 out of 10 young people considered obese or overweight, early education and active programming for youth is even more critical for a healthier tomorrow. Since its inception in 2005, Triple Play has made more than 9.2 million connections with kids, and continues to grow, providing more programming for kids and Clubs each year.

The Triple Play mobile tour will set up a variety of activities at each tour stop, from obstacle courses to sack races, jump ropes and hula-hoops. At each stop, hundreds of kids will participate with the goal of recording one million minutes in motion by August 15, 2014.

"Triple Play and the mobile tour this summer are changing the way kids think about being active and healthy, and we are proud to be a part of that great work," said Lance Chrisman, executive director of WellPoint Foundation. "The health and wellness of our nation's kids is vitally important to our country's future. Through programs like these, we can support more kids staying active during the out-of-school time, equipping them with health education and skills they will use in to adulthood."

"A healthy lifestyle is all about balanced living – a combination of nutrition education and physical activity," said Erika Von Heiland Strader, director of community marketing, The Coca-Cola Company. "Our support of the Boys & Girls Clubs' efforts to help millions of our nation's youth stay active and healthy will help them learn  about the importance of living a balanced life through Triple Play in a fun and engaging way."

Boys & Girls Clubs of America believes that all kids deserve a great future. Through the organization's Great Futures Campaign, Clubs and supporters are working to mobilize our country around the critical issues facing America's youth. Boys & Girls Clubs are committed to leading the way, assuring that every young person who enters a Club is on track to graduate from high school on time, prepared to succeed in college or a career, demonstrating good character and living a healthy lifestyle.

The Triple Play program motivates kids to be healthy by providing nutrition and health education and more access to healthy foods, and encouraging avoidance of risky behaviors and a lifelong commitment to fitness.

The Triple Play mobile tour will visit the following cities throughout July and August:

Los Angeles, California
Las Vegas, Nevada
Denver, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Fort Worth, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Memphis, Tennessee
St. Louis, Missouri
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Chicago, Illinois
Indianapolis, Indiana
Louisville, Kentucky
Columbus, Ohio
Albany, New York
Nashua, New Hampshire
New Haven, Connecticut
New York, New York
Newark, New Jersey
Washington D.C.
Orlando, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia

To learn more about the Triple Play mobile tour and our #KidsinMotion go to www.tripleplaytour.com.

About Triple Play
Triple Play: A healthy lifestyles Game Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul, was launched in 2005 by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services and with support from The Coca-Cola Company. The goal of Triple Play is to encourage kids to eat healthier, become more physically active and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships. A two-year study of more than 2,000 children ages 9-14 showed that Triple Play succeeded in getting them to exercise more, eat healthier foods and feel better about themselves. The study found that Triple Play kids increased to 90 percent of the federally recommended amount of daily exercise, which is 60 minutes a day for children, while their peers outside the program decreased to 78 percent. Triple Play includes five program components, each of which serves between 20,000 and 500,000 youth annually.  Since its inception in 2005, Triple Play has made more than 9.2 million connections with kids across the country. In 2011, the WellPoint Foundation joined BGCA and Coca-Cola as a Triple Play sponsor. Learn more about the program at www.bgca.org/tripleplay.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,100 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.

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SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America