The Healthy Living Club

 

LOGO-BCBSLAF

The Kiwanis Club of Lafayette is pleased to announce that the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation has awarded a the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette Foundation a grant of $1 million to address the growing problem of childhood obesity.  Adding in the cash and in-kind match to the grant, our program is slated to get $2.5 million from the Challenge for a Healthier Louisiana. We are grateful to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation for making healthy living options in our region and across the state a reality. Together, we’re reducing obesity, which is a significant risk factor for serious health conditions.

The Healthy Living Club (the name of our program) takes a multi-pronged approach to help adults, families and children exercise more, eat well and learn about healthy lifestyles:

  1. Adding new playground facilities, such as walking trails and workout stations
  2. Offering seed-to-table classes, which stress the interconnected relationships between planting seeds in a local garden to serving meals
  3. Establishing two community teaching gardens
  4. Offering after school wellness education programs for children
  5. Offering breast-feeding education classes
  6. Forming Health Ministry Teams, which will use a faith-based approach to fitness

Healthy Living Club is a collaboration among multiple organizations, including:

  1. Acadiana Breast Feeding Coalition
  2. Acadiana Food Circle
  3. Acadiana Open Channel
  4. American Heart Association
  5. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana
  6. Boys and Girls Club
  7. Bridge Ministries of Acadiana
  8. Creole Fitness Productions
  9. The Family Tree
  10. Focused Fitness, Inc
  11. Iberia Comprehensive Community Health Center
  12. Junior League of Lafayette
  13. Kiwanis Club of Lafayette Foundation
  14. Lafayette Consolidated Government (Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Department of Traffic and Transportation)
  15. Lafayette Parish School System
  16. Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation</li>
  17. Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center
  18. Second Harvest Food Bank
  19. Southern University
  20. Thirteen  Communications
  21. University of Louisiana at Lafayette ( The Cecil J Picard Center for Childhood Education and Lifelong Learning, Department of Anthropology, Department of Kinesiology, Department of Dietetics, and the Office of Research, College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions)

Our Foundation is looking forward to working on this project with all of the organizations mentioned above to make a difference over the next 3 years.  Kiwanis - changing the world one child and one community at a time!  Thanks so much to everyone who worked so hard putting together such a great project.

HLC Photo

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