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YMCAs get funds for CATCH equipment

ESCANABA — The Superior Health Foundation provides grant funding in the amount of $11,000 to UP YMCAs for equipment and curriculum to conduct the CATCH program at more than 14 after school sites across the Upper Peninsula. In response to the growing rate of obesity among children, the UP YMCAs have created an After School Fit & Fun Club designed to meet multiple community needs for kids and families.

“We needed to get kids moving,” said Angie LaBay, Northern Lights YMCA childcare director. According to the Center for Disease Control, 73.3 percent of Michigan adolescents do not participate in daily physical activity.

“Second, we need to educate children of proper nutrition and the need for a balanced plate including fruits and vegetable each day,” said LaBay. It is reported that 39.7 Michigan adolescents eat less than one serving of fruits and 37.6 eat less than one serving of vegetables daily.

LaBay indicated that the gift from the Superior Health Foundation allowed the U.P. Y’s to purchase the evidence-based CATCH equipment and curriculum. CATCH stands for a Coordinated Approach to Child Health. CATCH is proven to prevent childhood obesity and supported by 25 years and 120 academic papers indicating as much as 11 percent decrease in overweight and obesity. The CATCH program aims to impact the messaging a child receives after school and at home, to influence a child’s choices not only in school, but lifelong.

The YMCA After School Fit & Fun Club program day includes physical activity which is delivered through the CATCH curriculum, Red Cross / YMCA swim lessons, outside play, gym games and / or free play, healthy snacks, and homework help.

For more information, contact the YMCA at 906-789-0005 or www.nlymca.com.

Starting at $2.99/week.

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