The Wellmark Foundation
Kevin Teale
March 3, 2009
Youth & Family Services, Inc. (YFS) in Rapid City, S.D., received a $150,000 two-year grant from The Wellmark Foundation to implement a childhood obesity prevention program in western South Dakota.
The Choose to Move Childhood Obesity Prevention project will prevent obesity and promote healthy lifestyles among YFS children, families, and staff, says Susan Fedell, executive director of Youth & Family Services, Inc. “Choose to Move will strive to integrate physical activity and wise nutrition choices into the daily routines of nearly 2,000 children enrolled in YFS’s direct service programs, including Prenatal to Five Head Start, Child Care, Girls Incorporated, and Boys’ Health.”
According to Fedell, the project will utilize and expand on the research- and evidence-based childhood obesity prevention approach, I Am Moving, I am Learning, that has been used effectively in more than 100 Head Start programs nationally since 2006.