PROVIDENCE – Approximately 500 members of Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence and 150 members of Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket were encouraged to up their physical activity, thanks to a team effort by UnitedHealthcare, Hasbro and Patrick Pass, a former New England Patriots fullback and three-time Super Bowl champion, UnitedHealthcare reported.
UnitedHealthcare distributed Hasbro’s NERF ENERGY Game Kits to each of these 650 children at an event at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence’s South Side Club on Wednesday, April 19. Each kit includes a NERF ENERGY Game Band, a NERF PRO FOAM soccer ball and instructions to download the NERF ENERGY RUSH mobile game to get kids moving. The UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr. Health E. Hound, and Pass, who led the children in exercises and football drills, were joined by UnitedHealthcare CEO Stephen Farrell, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Vice President Greg Stupin and Hasbro President John Frascotti.
As children participate in physical activity, they earn “energy points” that are tracked by the activity band, and these points turn into screen time to play the mobile game on a smartphone or tablet, according to a UnitedHealthcare statement. This donation is part of a recently launched UnitedHealthcare national initiative that encourages young people to become more active through “exergaming.”
This initiative, by which UnitedHealthcare has committed to donating 10,000 NERF ENERGY Game Kits to schools and community organizations at no cost throughout 2017, addresses the national health crisis of childhood obesity. Citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UnitedHealtcare reported that approximately 17 percent of children and adolescents, ages 2-19, are obese, and in Rhode Island, 13 percent of children are considered obese.
Nancy Kirsch is a PBN contributing writer.
