More than 100 Healthy U champions and partners from YMCAs and schools from all over the state gathered at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford May 18 to celebrate 10 years of community impact. Hamilton Area YMCA Director of Staff Development Dan Sczweck was among the attendees.
At the event, Healthy U was also formally presented with the 2017 CATCH Award for Excellence in State Health. CATCH is the nationally recognized curriculum used in the program. The award recognizes the partnership between the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance and its 36 member associations for Healthy U’s efforts to promote nutrition education and increased physical activity in schools and YMCA childcare settings, advocating for policies that support healthy environments, and convening partners across the state to create a positive collective health impact.
The Hamilton Area YMCA is one such organization, promoting Healthy U to its community through a number of programs including its pre-school instruction, BASE participation, its Kuser Recess Program and its new Healthy U partnership with the Hamilton Township School District.
The Healthy U program launched in 2008 as a collaboration between The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance with the goal of promoting healthy behavior and preventing childhood obesity through more physical activity, family involvement and nutrition education.
For more information, contact Dan Sczweck at dsczweck@hamiltonymca.org.
