BCBS makes two grants

The Newport County YMCA and Education in Action are receiving a $20,000 and $15,000 grants respectively, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has announced.
The firm named two more of the six 2015 Blue Angel Community Health Grant recipients after last week highlighting McAuley Ministries as the first recipient of a $30,000 grant.
The Newport County YMCA has received a $20,000 grant to continue a recently piloted partnership the YMCA, the pediatricians at Aquidneck Medical Associates and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.
Pediatricians will “prescribe the Y” to 36 local children who have a body mass index of 85 percent or higher—an indicator of childhood obesity.
Participants will then meet twice weekly for 12 weeks and exercise with a certified personal trainer. When graduating from the Y, participants and their families will receive free, one-year memberships.
Education in Action will use its grant to launch the Young Star ACTIVE-ists initiative. This program educates local middle school students about nutrition and obesity issues, and teaches them to create solutions for the health and wellness challenges facing their peers.
As part of an 11-week session, students will build business plans around their health and wellness ideas that include budgets, marketing plans, and materials. Students then present their ideas and business plans to an audience. The initiative will include youth from the Cranston, Pawtucket, Central Falls and West Warwick communities.
The remaining three grants will be publicized by March and a formal award reception, hosted at BCBSRI, follows on March 4.

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