NIKE, Inc., Kaiser Permanente Team up with The Partnership for a Healthier America to End Physical Inactivity Epidemic

Organizations will center efforts around the school day

Chicago, IL (February 28, 2013)– NIKE, Inc. and Kaiser Permanente have joined the Partnership for a Healthier America and six other organizations in support of Let’s Move! Active Schools, an unprecedented collaboration to bring physical activity back to schools. This initiative, announced today, by PHA Honorary Chair and First Lady Michelle Obama will help schools create active environments where students get 60 minutes of physical activity daily through quality programming before, during and after class.This collaborative effort empowers and mobilizes “school champions” – teachers, administrators, staff and parents – to create environments that engage students in movement every day.

“The Partnership for a Healthier America is proud to be a part of this effort to end physical inactivity across the country,” said PHA President and CEO Larry Soler. “This partnership is an opportunity to change our kids’ futures, it is a chance to make sure they do not live shorter lives than their parents. With a challenge this big, no single company or organization can solve it alone, and we’re thankful for the invaluable support of both NIKE, Inc. and Kaiser Permanente.”

Over the next five years, NIKE, Inc. will invest $50 million to help create active schools and physically active communities around the U.S. Nike will target these resources to energize physical activity in our schools, develop access to sports in our communities and to broaden the community of partners focused on this opportunity.

“This partnership is part of Nike’s long-term commitment to help our nation’s youth lead more active and healthy lives. All kids deserve a chance to realize their full potential and we believe creating active schools will help kids do better in school and most importantly in life.” –NIKE, Inc. President and CEO Mark Parker.

In partnership with the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the National PTA, Kaiser Permanente is launching “Fire Up Your Feet,” an innovative program that helps teachers, parents, and administrators get students moving before, during, and after the school day. The program also helps schools conduct healthy fundraisers that promote walking, biking and other types of physical activity. Over the next three years, Kaiser Permanente will invest $1.76 million to make this program available to every elementary and middle school in the country, and to provide an opportunity to compete for challenge awards to 11,000 elementary and middle schools in communities served by Kaiser Permanente.

“Every child deserves a chance to be active during the day. It’s good for kids’ health, and it’s good for their learning. At Kaiser Permanente, we do all we can to help children live healthy and active lives through extensive work in the community and collaborative partnerships. That’s why we are excited to be part of this important initiative.” – Raymond J. Baxter, PhD, senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy.

PHA, NIKE, Inc. and Kaiser Permanente will be joined by the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition; American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD); Alliance for a Healthier Generation; GENYOUth Foundation; and PHA Partner, ChildObesity180 in their efforts to end the physical inactivity epidemic.

Every company that works with PHA is required to agree that PHA will monitor and report on progress toward their commitment. NIKE, Inc. and Kaiser Permanente have both agreed to work with an independent verifier to report the progress of their commitment for PHA’s annual report.

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.

NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories.

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.