Washington Business Journal
By Tierney Plumb
Friday, May 16, 2008
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington have formed a partnership to help prevent childhood obesity in the Washington area, where one in four children are overweight or obese and more than half between the ages of 5 and 10 have at least one risk factor leading to cardiovascular disease.
The 5-year-old Physical, Healthy, Driven (PHD) program, offered as part of the YMCA's child care and camp programs and at local schools lacking physical education programs, received a $1 million donation from the Owings Mills, Md.-based nonprofit health care company.
The contribution, the largest the PHD program has received, will fund after-school events and YMCA's Kids Health Mobile. The mobile physical education program will start cruising D.C. next week, stocked with an interactive gym, rock climbing wall, health assessment equipment and nutrition corner. It will be used throughout the year at schools, health fairs and special events.