SILVER SPRING, Md.,
May 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), a broad-based
not-for-profit organization whose focus is the reduction of
childhood obesity, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of
digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms,
today announced the winners of the 2017 Healthy Playground Makeover
Sweepstakes and Smart from the Start Awards, annually offered
incentive programs from the Together Counts™ program. Designed to
encourage students to lead healthy, active lifestyles, these
programs strive to increase the impact of health and wellness
programs both in and out of the classroom, and will award more than
$240,000 in prizes to deserving
schools nationwide.
The following schools have been chosen as this year's grand
prize winners:
Healthy Playground Makeover Sweepstakes:
Grand prize winners:
- Welch Elementary School in Newnan, GA
- Sunset Park Elementary School in Wilmington, NC (*Title I)
- Randolph Elementary School in Universal City, TX (*Military)
Selected from nearly 620,000 entries nationwide, these three
schools are the 2017 grand prize winners and will be awarded
$30,000 in cash and sporting goods
and a new PlayCubesTM Playground from Playworld, a
leading manufacturer of imaginative playground and fitness
equipment (entire prize package valued at $60,405 each). Randolph Elementary School
was the first winner ever of the grand prize to a U.S. military
base or installation for a school or community organization serving
the children of active duty military. Sunset Park Elementary was
awarded the grand prize for a school that qualifies for Title I
funding due to the number of students receiving free or reduced
price lunch.
"Welch Elementary is so excited about our Healthy Playground
grant. Our mission is, 'We Ensure the Success of Each
Student'. In order for students to be successful, they must
be well rounded and feel good about themselves. This will
give our students the opportunity to get fit and show their
success." – Janice Smith, Principal,
Welch Elementary School
"As an urban school located near downtown Wilmington, qualifying for a 100% free
breakfast and lunch program, many of our families struggle to
initiate and/or maintain a healthy lifestyle. This prize will allow
us to focus some of our energy and resources into assisting our
students and families to learn how a healthy lifestyle will help
them achieve their goals. As you know, a healthy body and
mind are keys to success." – Diego
Lehocky, Principal, Sunset Park Elementary School
"Wow! A new playground for our kids! A playground is
the place for children to develop not only physically but
emotionally. It's every child's dream and for the military
child, it's the best place to be to meet a new friend." –
Allana Hemenway, Principal, Randolph
Elementary School, Randolph Field Independent School District.
Smart from the Start Awards:
Grand prize winner:
- Sacred Heart School in Camden,
NJ
The Smart from the Start Awards empower preschool teachers to
strategize wellness initiatives using the free Smart from the Start
Pre-K curriculum in their classrooms. Sacred Heart School in
Camden, NJ will receive a
$20,000 grant for their action plan
to focus on eating a variety of fruits and vegetables and
incorporating more physical activity in and out of the
classroom. Sacred Heart students
lack access to green space for physical activity and high rates of
violence and crime make many parents hesitant about letting their
children play outdoors.
To improve health and wellness habits for their students, Sacred
Heart School used the Smart from the Start lessons to get their
preschoolers moving more while also making efforts to include fresh
produce in meals and snacks. In addition, parents received a
newsletter on nutrition. Sacred Heart School will use the award
grant to create an outdoor classroom, develop a Health and Wellness
Library with resources for students to bring home, and purchase
cooking equipment to enable the school to have family cooking
nights.
"We are so grateful for this award and the long-term impact it
will have! We are eager and excited to make investments in
equipment and materials that will enhance nutrition and physical
activity for our children for years to come, both at school and in
partnership with their families." – Cheryl
Heatwole, Montessori Preschool teacher, Sacred Heart
School.
To see a comprehensive list of all winners and prizes please
visit,
http://www.togethercounts.com/at-school/win-for-your-school.
Together Counts
Established in 2010, the Together Counts program is a
comprehensive health and wellness initiative designed to encourage
students, educators and families to live healthy lifestyles. Since
the program's launch, a total of more than $1.6M has been awarded to deserving schools
across the country. Available at no cost, the program offers
educators and students nationwide standards-based curriculum, as
well as the chance to win cash grants and equipment for their
schools. Updated in 2016 to address overall wellness, lesson plans
tailored to Pre-K, K-2 and 3-5 teach goal-planning skills and
strategies for developing lifelong resilience. All lesson plans,
family resources and incentive programs can be found at
http://www.togethercounts.com/; follow @TogetherCounts on Twitter
and Facebook.
"Empowering children to make healthy decisions that become
healthy habits for life is a top priority in the battle to reverse
obesity rates," said Becky Johnson,
Executive Director of the Healthy Weight Commitment
Foundation. "Rewarding schools that develop and implement
innovative healthy lifestyle programs is the perfect way to honor
their leadership and develop a compendium of best practices that
can be adopted in other communities at the same time. We are proud
to support these programs and congratulate all of the
winners."
"Discovery Education is proud of our continued partnership with
the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation to reward schools across
America through the Healthy Playground Makeover Sweepstakes and
Smart from the Start Awards for their impactful efforts on
improving students' health and wellness," said Lori McFarling, Senior Vice President, Discovery
Education. "These programs offer the opportunity to teach the
importance of health and wellness, and help establish healthy
habits for students early on."
About Healthy Weight Commitment
Foundation
Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation
(HWCF) is a broad-based not-for-profit organization whose mission
is to help reduce obesity, especially childhood obesity, by
encouraging positive and permanent lifestyle changes among
school-aged children and their families. The Foundation develops
and implements innovative and collaborative educational,
marketplace and community solutions with its coalition of 300
corporate and not-for-profit partners. Through its free,
award-winning Together Counts™ wellness curriculum, the Foundation
has reached more than 44 million students in the U.S. As the
first commitment to former First Lady Michelle
Obama's Let's Move initiative and verified by the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, HWCF's food and beverage company members gave
consumers more lower calorie options by removing 6.4 trillion
calories from their products– surpassing their pledge by more than
400 percent three years ahead of schedule. In June 2016 the program expanded internationally
with the launch of the Latin American Commitment to a Healthy
Future at the World Economic Forum in Medellín, Colombia. www.healthyweightcommit.org
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the
global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12,
transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital
textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the
largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5
million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery
Education's services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of
all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries.
Discovery Education partners with districts, states and like-minded
organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and
transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase
academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery
Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one
nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of
education at www.discoveryeducation.com.
About Playworld
Playworld is a division of PlayPower®
Inc. and believes The World Needs Play®. Play is vital to
everyone's health and well-being. It's something you are never too
young or too old to enjoy. We develop playground environments where
creativity is king, belly laughs are welcome and children make the
rules. Playworld equipment is designed to unleash the
transformational power of play so bodies grow stronger, children
play safely and imagination can take flight. For over 45 years,
Playworld has created innovative, inclusive and meaningful outdoor
play experiences for all ages and abilities. Visit
Playworld.com.
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SOURCE Discovery Education