Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Helping families practice healthy habits at home is only one part of the challenge. Kids spend the bulk of their time outside the home, so childcare settings and early learning programs need to play a powerful role in helping kids grow up healthy. Our early childhood and out-of-school time partners are working to keep our kids health a priority: Collectively, they’ve committed to provide more than 6 million children with healthier food and increased physical activity by 2020.

Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA), a well-known provider of out-of-school time activities, became one of these PHA partners on February 25, 2014. Over five years, BGCA plans to adopt strong standards for nutrition and physical activity in its 3,400 clubs across the nation. During these next few years, BGCA also will encourage sites to join the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Out-of-School Time initiative, with the hopes that this will provide the process, tools and resources needed to ensure our nation’s youth receives great care outside the home.

“Boys & Girls Clubs of America is committed to helping young people eat healthier, become more active and lead healthy lifestyles. Our pledge is to provide a world-class experience after school and in summer that assures success is within reach for every young person who enters our doors – and critical to that success is building healthy habits. Our public commitment with the Partnership for a Healthier America will help our Clubs inspire youth to stay active and make smart food choices that will help them achieve a great future.

~Damon A. Williams, Ph.D., senior vice president, Program, Training & Youth Development Services, BGCA.

Whether they’re at home or at school, American families will find themselves in healthier environments thanks to the work being done by PHA partners like BGCA every day.