FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

YMCA INITIATIVE FUELS COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACH TO COMBAT OBESITY AND CHRONIC DISEASES

20 Additional Communities To Become 'Healthy Pioneers of Change,' Spreading Movement to 34 Cities

Washington, September 8, 2005 - One year after launching YMCA Activate America: Pioneering Healthier Communities Project, YMCA of the USA, the national resource office for the nation's 2,595 YMCAs, today announced the expansion of the initiative to 20 additional communities. Combined with the earlier participants, these newly named communities are forming the foundation of an aggressive social movement that is mobilizing leaders in communities to respond to the public health challenge of obesity and physical inactivity.

Through this initiative, the local YMCAs are serving as "connectors," bringing together high-level representatives from the government, public health and private sectors to drive meaningful change.

"The Healthier Communities Project provides a cohesive response to the disturbing rising rates of chronic disease and obesity that are taking a toll on our society," said Kenneth L. Gladish, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, YMCA of the USA. "Although community-based change is not an overnight process, we've already begun to see meaningful transformations start to take root that will enable us to break the cycle of unhealthy living." "None of the success achieved to date would be happening were it not for the team-based approach that is engaging all sectors of society," Dr. Gladish added.

"Promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing chronic disease will not be accomplished quickly or simply. If we are serious about combating the obesity epidemic then everyone must chip in - parents, schools, communities and Congress. That is why I am pleased that the YMCA's Healthier Communities Project is reaching out to more and more communities this year. The obesity epidemic and its toll on our nation's health are real, and the time to act is now." Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Honorary Chair of the Pioneering Healthier Communities Project.

2005 Pioneering Healthier Communities

Representing the diversity of the country, the 20 new communities convened by their local YMCAs are as follows: State Alliances of YMCAs in Arkansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Marshall, Minnesota; Coatesville, Pennsylvania; Fort Worth, Texas; Springfield, Missouri; Greenville, South Carolina; Rapid City, South Dakota; Lincoln, Nebraska; Madison, Wisconsin; Marshalltown, Iowa; Shreveport, Louisiana; Lexington, Kentucky; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Attleboro, Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; Tucson, Arizona; Orange County, California; Clearwater, Florida; and Reno, Nevada.

Early Community Successes

The first 14 Pioneering Healthier Communities initiated their work in the fall of 2004. Ongoing efforts are focused on various local challenges ranging from devising engaging ways to excite youth and older adults about physical activity, strengthening kids' emotional well-being and improving school nutrition to enhancing the built community environment and influencing relevant public policy. Notable successes and accomplishments include:

• Boulder, CO
  Colorado enjoys the status of being one of the most physically fit states in the nation. Generally, youth fall below national averages for risk of becoming overweight. However, it is on the emotional scale that youth here do not fare nearly as well. Rates of binge drinking, drug use, depression, and thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts put Colorado's young people at alarming risk. Consequently, Activate Boulder County is focusing its efforts on establishing a network of "refueling stations" that provide growth opportunities and support services for early teens. This is being achieved through collaboration with the community, schools, parents, faith groups and youth themselves. Since its launch in April 2005, Activate Boulder County has successfully opened eight "refueling stations" and served 600 middle school youth. These stations feature tutoring, music, dance, arts and sports activities, leadership challenges, computer facilities and service learning activities. The program will also continue its community outreach by extending the messages to local bus drivers to encourage school buses to serve as "refueling stations."

  Another focus of the Activate Boulder County program is the Youth Empowerment Project. This project selects youth from 10 schools to participate in risk-behavior reduction training. These students then return to their schools to educate their peers about risky behavior and how it can affect one's health.

• Des Moines, IA
  Nearly 40 percent of Des Moines middle school children are overweight. To combat this, Activate Des Moines devised a plan to educate the public about the value of healthy living and to decrease levels of childhood obesity in the area. The innovative Trim Kids is a 12-week program that teaches parents and children the steps necessary for long-term healthy living by providing menu ideas, easy exercises, and tips for parents to encourage their children to stick with healthy exercise and eating habits. Over 70 families have enrolled to date and are showing excellent measurable progress. Trim Kids is now being expanded to 12 new communities.
• Milwaukee, WI
  Activate Milwaukee is concentrating on reducing health issues of low-income overweight youth and their families and has piloted four programs in a particular neighborhood. This includes the pre-school pilot, designed to ensure a healthy developmental environment for young children; an elementary school project which provided the families of 4th and 5th graders with free YMCA membership for the duration of the program to track fruit and vegetable intake and increase physical activity; an after-school pilot in which the YMCA works intensively with children and parents to develop healthier habits and reduce "screen" time; and a collaboration with Children's Hospital of Wisconsin called NEW Kids at the Y. This research-based obesity treatment program requires physician referral.

  Additionally the YMCA launched Milwaukee Moves to focus on the adult population. This collaboration between downtown Milwaukee businesses, the YMCA and OnMilwaukee.com encourages employees to get out of their offices and to walk during lunch hour.

• Pittsburgh, PA
  Activate Pittsburgh united formidable community leaders into its team, including, the region's largest health care provider and the region's largest health insurer. As a result of its first year initiatives, Activate Pittsburgh offered health and wellness programs at parochial elementary schools which serve approximately 850 kids from inner-city families and introduced physical education and nutrition campaigns to a number of schools, with expansion already in the works.

  Year two of Activate Pittsburgh looks even more impressive with the development of several new programs about health education and smoking cessation; expansion of wellness activities to all After-School Program participants; the opening of a brand hew health facility in one of the most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Pittsburgh; and a fund-raising tie-in to a city-hosted Triathlon.

What's Next for the 2005 Pioneering Healthier Communities

Following the model of the 2004 communities, YMCAs in these 20 communities will compose a team consisting of 10 local leaders, including elected officials, state and local directors of public health organizations, business leaders from various industries, as well as local schools, parks and hospitals. The 200 team representatives will convene at the YMCA Activate America: Pioneering Healthier Communities National Conference to be held in Washington, DC on November 30 - December 2, 2005. This second annual conference will focus on educating these community leaders on strategies and models to effect solutions that can be replicated nationwide. Two dozen experts came together at the first conference in 2004 to educate attendees about evidenced-based approached to effecting change. These experts ranged from The Honorable Tommy Thompson and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin; to Governor Parris N. Glendening, President, Smart Growth Leadership Institute; Melissa Johnson, Executive Director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; and Peter Cribb, Director, The Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) Program.

The YMCA Activate America: Pioneering Healthier Communities Conference is part of the multi-year YMCA Activate America initiative, the YMCA's long-term national mobilization effort that seeks to improve the health and wellness of millions of Americans. To accomplish the goal, the YMCA is pursuing multiple, synergistic strategies, that includes an organizational improvement and innovation strategy that is fundamentally re-engineering the way YMCAs work with adult "health seekers" and their families as well as children and families in YMCA after school and day camp programs.

About YMCA "Activate America: Pioneering Healthier Communities"

YMCA "Activate America: Pioneering Healthier Communities" is developed with expert advice and assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Their input is helping to build an infrastructure for replicating model programs and approaches in developing healthy communities nationwide. In addition, the Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Program Directors (CDD) and the American Public Health Association are also working with Y-USA in this effort. Health and wellness has been an integral part of YMCAs charitable mission for more than 150 years. YMCA "Activate America" builds upon the YMCA's track record of pioneering programs that respond to timely societal needs. For more information, please visit www.ymca.net.

About 2004 Pioneering Healthier Communities

Dallas, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Boulder, Colorado; Tampa, Florida; St. Louis, Missouri; Bellevue, Washington; State of West Virginia; Boise, Idaho; State of Delaware; Palo Alto, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Jackson, Mississippi, and Rochester, New York.

YMCA Leadership -- Long-Standing Commitment to Spirit, Mind, Body

Serving more than 10,000 communities and neighborhoods, no institution is better positioned to act as a unifying force in this effort than YMCA of the USA, the national resource office for 2,575 YMCAs. Offering a broad range of programs including youth leadership and volunteerism, YMCAs are collectively the nation's largest providers of child care, afterschool, and youth sports programs and are working to incorporate physical activity into all aspects of youth, family and community programming. Visit www.ymca.net for more information.

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For more information contact:

Media Relations Manager
YMCA of the USA
202-835-9043

Joy Lee
Stanton Crenshaw
646-502-3517
lee@stantoncrenshaw.com