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National Catalyst for Change Award Finalists Announced at Partnership for a Healthier America Summit

Companies and organizations honored for making the healthy choice the easy choice in the fight against childhood obesity

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 11, 2017) — Today, at its sixth annual Building a Healthier Future Summit, the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) announced the 10 finalists for the second annual Catalyst for Change Awards. These awards – which include the PHA Partner of the Year Award and the PHA Impact Award – recognize partners and community leaders who exemplify positive change by creating solutions to end the childhood obesity crisis and make the healthy choice the easy choice for busy parents and families.

The PHA Partner of the Year Award is presented to a partner who is working to ensure the health of our nation’s youth, making healthier choices more affordable and accessible to families and children across the country. The partner must demonstrate how it is executing key strategies with and beyond the PHA commitment, including focusing on those populations disproportionately impacted by obesity; doing well while doing good; using an innovative approach to address childhood obesity; or creating a ripple effect within their industry. The finalists are:

  • Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
  • Learning Care Group
  • MaineHealth
  • Oakwood University
  • National Recreation and Park Association

The PHA Impact Award is presented to a group or an individual who has sparked change at the community level to help build a healthier future. The finalists must demonstrate how the organization or individual is showing measurable impact and outcomes with a focus on populations disproportionately impacted by obesity; collaborating with other organizations in the childhood obesity effort to create a greater impact; or using an innovative approach to address the mission to end childhood obesity. The finalists are:

  • Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
  • Common Threads
  • EcoSpaces Education
  • Hip Hop is Green
  • Everytable

“The second annual Catalyst for Change awards finalists are at the forefront our nation’s fight to end childhood obesity,” said PHA CEO Lawrence A. Soler. “The Partnership for a Healthier America is proud to acknowledge the companies and organizations that are creating new benchmarks for operating in ways that advance health and wellness of their communities. Collectively, the finalists have already impacted thousands of lives by making the healthier choice the easy choice. We can’t wait to see what they do next.” Winners will be announced at the PHA Fit to Celebrate Gala on Wednesday, November 1, 2017.


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.