Sunlife and Kansas City Royals help students build healthy habits through Royal Moves fitness program

Royal Moves had 360 student participants this year, from four Kansas City Public Schools elementary schools: George Washington Carver, George Melcher, Phillis Wheatley and Garfield. Following a program kickoff on September 25 at the Royals game against Cleveland, Royal Moves ran for four weeks, offering weekly fitness and health activities, and field trips to the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy.

"Helping kids discover the fun in being active is an important way to encourage healthy habits for life," said Ryan Bohrer, vice president of Commercial Dental and Vision, Sunlife U.S. "We love working with the Royals and connecting with the Kansas City community. Together, we're making health and wellness more approachable for those who need it most."

Weekly lessons pair wellness themes with baseball or softball skills: movement with base running and agility; nutrition and hydration with hitting; rest with throwing and caring for the body; and mindfulness with fielding, focus and self-control. Students complete mindfulness journal entries and track physical activity, water intake, food choices and sleep, with a goal of 60 active minutes daily.

"This program gives us a meaningful way to connect with students and show how small, everyday choices support their health and wellbeing," said Donease Smith, executive director, Kansas City Urban Youth Academy. "Royal Moves brings those lessons to life and helps families learn and grow together."

The program culminated on Saturday, October 24, with a Family Field Day at the Urban Youth Academy, bringing participating students, teachers, and families together for games and activities, including whiffle ball and a pumpkin patch. The event also featured a special book reading of 'Ruby Jean's Garden' by Chris Goode, founder of Ruby Jean's Juicery in Kansas City.

Sunlife has partnered with the Royals since 2017, supporting youth fitness, community health programs and local nonprofits. The partnership extends through the 2030 baseball season. This year, Sunlife and the Royals launched "Every Single Smile," with Sunlife donating $50 to TeamSmile for each Royals regular-season single. The campaign reached its $50,000 goal to help expand access to dental care for underserved Kansas City youth.

For more information about Sunlife's community partnerships, visit www.sunlife.com/us/en/about/our-community-involvement/.

About Sunlife
Sunlife is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sunlife has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2026, Sunlife had total assets under management of C$1.68 trillion. 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.

Sunlife U.S. is one of the largest providers of employee and government benefits, helping approximately 48 million Americans access the care and coverage they need. Through employers, industry partners and government programs, Sunlife U.S. offers a portfolio of benefits and services, including dental, vision, disability, absence management, life, supplemental health, medical stop-loss insurance, and healthcare navigation. Sunlife employs nearly 8,300 people in the U.S., including associates in our partner dental practices and affiliated companies in asset management. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information visit our website and newsroom.

About The Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team operated by a hometown ownership group led by Chairman and CEO John Sherman. Ewing Kauffman founded the club in 1969 because, in his words, "I believe the people of Kansas City deserved a Major League Baseball team." No MLB team founded along with or since can match the Royals four American League pennants and two World Series Championships. Since Sherman's purchase, the Royals won the Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence in 2021 and been a finalist three other times.  

Media Contacts:

Devon Fernald
Sunlife U.S.
[email protected]
781-800-3609

SOURCE Sun Life U.S.