Boys & Girls Club Kids Get Healthy By Logging One Million Minutes In Motion During The Triple Play Mobile Tour

ATLANTA, Aug. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Boys & Girls Clubs of America announced today that the Triple Play Mobile Tour reached its goal of "One Million Minutes in Motion," thanks to the participation of thousands of Club kids over the last six weeks. The Triple Play Mobile Tour kicked off in Los Angeles on July 7 and traveled around the country to more than 20 cities and 30 Boys & Girls Clubs, inspiring kids to stay active each day during out-of-school time. With more than 1,040,000 minutes logged, the tour surpassed its goal of one million minutes of physical activity.

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. Since 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. Boys & Girls Clubs provide a safe place for kids to go during the critical out-of-school hours – a time when many kids risk being unguided, unsafe and, oftentimes, sedentary. Programs and resources like Triple Play help reverse the negative trends facing America's youth, such as three out of 10 kids being considered obese or overweight. Clubs work to inspire and empower kids to overcome obstacles on their way to achieving great futures.

"We are proud of Boys & Girls Clubs across the country for reaching this goal and creating an environment for kids to be active and thrive – not just during each tour stop, but every single day," said Erika Von Heiland Strader, director of community marketing for The Coca-Cola Company. "At Coca-Cola, we understand that the benefits of active living go beyond physical health and we're excited to see Triple Play impact so many kids through this mobile tour."

"It's incredibly important that we empower young people to live healthily and the mobile tour helped inspire so many kids to do just that over the last six weeks," said Lance Chrisman, executive director of WellPoint Foundation. "The tour is just a glimpse into the work Clubs do each day to promote Triple Play and healthy lifestyle programs for thousands of kids. We are proud to support getting more kids active and equipping them with the tools they need to live a healthy life into adulthood."

"The tour this summer was an amazing testament to the importance of encouraging young people to be active, healthy and engaged during out-of-school time," said Wayne B. Moss, senior director of healthy lifestyles for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Our Club members flourish when we can offer programming that engages and inspires them, and the tour helped do both, as Clubs raced to log one million minutes. Thank you to our supporters, The Coca-Cola Company and WellPoint Foundation and its affiliate state brands for helping make this tour possible."

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 the 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, while demonstrating good character and living a healthy lifestyle.

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

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