On May 22 ChildObesity180 announced 11 winners of their nationwide
innovation contest, including The 100 Mile Club® and Corona-Norco Unified School District.
The competition was designed to identify and reward the
most creative, impactful, and scalable school-based programs and technologies
to promote children’s physical activity.
100 Mile Club® was one of two west regional winners in the school
programs category. Other winners were schools
and districts from Los Angeles, Texas, South Carolina, Minnesota, Florida, New
York/New Jersey, Massachusetts and Colorado.
The Active Schools Acceleration Project, a
ChildObesity180 initiative, launched the competition in February 2012 in a
commitment with the Partnership for a Healthier America. First Lady MichelleObama encouraged participation in the competition with a call for applications
via a video message.
Teachers, schools, and school districts submitted their
school-based physical activity programs to the “School Programs” category,
while the “Technology Innovation” category invited developers, inventors, and
entrepreneurs to demonstrate how existing or emerging technologies could be
used to inspire kids to be physically active. A panel of experts representing
various fields judged the entries.
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| Twain Elementary (Bullfrogs) Tees |
Each of the regional “School Programs” category winners
will receive $25,000 to further advance health and wellness programming in
their school or district. On June 13, in Washington, D.C., two of these nine
winners will be chosen as National Winners and their award will increase to
$100,000 each.
Working closely with leading researchers and expert staff
at Tufts University and ChildObesity180, National “School Programs” and
“Technology Innovation” winners will participate in pilot studies to expand
their programs and technologies to schools of different types, sizes, and geographies
across the country.
Peter Dolan, chair of ChildObesity180 says, “The
competition’s winning programs and technologies are models that can help us
reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. We are grateful for the support of thirteen
of America’s leading health plans for this competition. With them as our
partners, we are recognizing innovation champions and identifying opportunities
to bring solutions to scale.”
Information: www.childobesity180.org
