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THE DANNON COMPANY AWARDS
THE SIXTH ANNUAL
DANNON NEXT
GENERATION NUTRITION® GRANTS SUPPORTING
NUTRITION EDUCATION
$120,000 in Grants to Benefit Nearly 4,000
Children and Families Nationwide
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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., AUG. 18, 2011 — The
Dannon Company, Inc. awarded its sixth annual Dannon Next
Generation Nutrition® Grants, donating a total of
$120,000 to four non-profit organizations in support of
their community-based nutrition education programs. The four
grants were awarded throughout the month of August, and
concluded yesterday with a final
grant presentation in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Dannon Company established the
Dannon Next Generation Nutrition® Grant program to promote
childhood nutrition education in each of the four
communities where a company facility is located. As part of
the grant program, Dannon contributes $30,000 to four
non-profit organizations ($120,000 in total) in Auglaize,
Mercer, Darke or Shelby County, Ohio; Salt Lake County, Utah;
Tarrant County, Texas; and Westchester County, New York.
Since the program began in 2006, 24
grants – totaling more than $700,000 – have been awarded to
nonprofit organizations for compelling and influential
programming aimed at improving children’s health. To date,
the grants have reached nearly 18,000 children and their
families.
This year’s Dannon Next Generation
Nutrition® Grant winners are:
- Joint Township District
Memorial Hospital (St Marys, Ohio) – Joint
Township’s Grand Health Family Challenge is a weight
loss program developed by the hospital and community
partners to reduce childhood and family obesity in
Auglaize County and portions of rural Mercer, Shelby,
and Allen Counties. The program is a new extension of
the hospital’s Grand Health Challenge and was a
recipient of the David Hendershot Rural Health Promotion
Award from the Ohio Hospital Association and the
American Heart Association’s Gold and Platinum Level
Start! Fit-Friendly Awards. Since its creation in 2006,
the Grand Health Challenge has helped 1,892 community
members lose more than 20,000 pounds.
- Open Door
Family Medical Centers (Westchester County,
New
York)
– Open Door’s
Fit for Life will create an alliance among youth,
parents, teachers, health care providers and community
partners to teach children and their families to be
healthy for a lifetime. The program, which will reach
2,900 children aged five through 18, will focus on
encouraging critical thinking about healthy eating
habits and physical activity, personal power, and media
literacy. Fit for Life will feature five
principal components: a classroom-based health education
in issues related to healthy eating and physical
activities; a partnership with staff at each school’s
cafeteria to ensure that healthful lunch options are
available; a health ambassador program to encourage
critical thinking about healthy eating habits; open
access to primary care services; and four one-hour
family workshops dedicated to education and wellness.
- Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service (Tarrant
County, Texas) – Developed in 2006 by Texas A&M
University nutrition and health
faculty, county extension educators, and third grade
teachers, Texas AgriLIFE’s Balancing Food and Play
will bring an integrated, interactive nutrition and
physical activity curriculum to several hundred third
grade youth in
Tarrant County, Texas. The program will include healthy food
demonstrations in classrooms and with parent groups, an
eight week walking program, a healthy snack creation
poster contest, and more—and will culminate in a family
nutrition and health celebration bringing together
parents and children to celebrate living healthy lives.
Balancing Food and Play will promote several key
lifestyles changes for Tarrant County youth, including increased fruit
and vegetable consumption, the choice of water as a
beverage, at least 60 minutes of daily physical
activity, and the limitation of screen time to less than
two hours per day.
- YMCA of Greater Salt Lake
(Salt Lake City, Utah) – The YMCA of Greater Salt
Lake’s Activiate America® is a bold approach to
directly addressing the nation’s growing health crisis.
The goal of the YMCA’s 2011-2012 Activate America®
campaign is to provide 600 children and 500 families
from
Salt
Lake County with strong fitness and wellness
habits that will result in good health, strength, and
positive attitudes. The initiative, hosted at five YMCA
program sites serving six elementary schools and two
junior high schools, will include comprehensive
nutrition education and physical activity programming as
well as events such as Healthy Kids Day and the Family
Fun Run.
Two of this year’s winners, Open Door
Family Medical Centers in New York and the YMCA of Greater
Salt Lake in Utah, received Dannon Next Generation Nutrition®
Grants for the second consecutive year in a row.
In addition to supporting general
nutrition education programming, the Dannon Next Generation
Nutrition® Grants target an alarming trend in
children’s health: childhood obesity. According to
the American Heart Association, the number of children and
teens who are obese or overweight has tripled in the past 25
years to one in three. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the American Heart Association report that an
unhealthy weight can lead to undesirable physical and mental
health consequences, and that overweight or obese children
are at a greater risk for high cholesterol, high blood
pressure, type 2 diabetes, asthma, and sleep apnea.
“In light of the rising rates of
childhood obesity across the country, it is critical that we
teach our children about proper nutrition and how to lead a
healthy life,” said Gayle Binney, Dannon corporate
responsibility manager. “By educating children about
nutrition, fitness, and healthy lifestyles, each program
funded by the Dannon Next Generation Nutrition®
Grants plays a crucial role in protecting the well-being of
our nation’s youth. These programs will truly bring
something for everyone, providing participants with a wealth
of opportunities including in-school nutrition courses,
outlets for recreational activity, interactive cooking
classes, fun family events, access to clinical services, and
so much more.”
Over the past five years, the grants
have produced notable positive results, including:
·
The
2010 New York
grant winner, Open Door Family Medical Centers, found that
nearly 80% of the 2,275 students who participated in the
program demonstrated an increase in their knowledge of
recommended health behaviors in areas such as nutrition and
physical activity. Open Door also reported that, of the
1,600 students whose Body Mass Index was measured twice
during their participation in the Fit for Life
program, more than half showed reduction in their BMI.
- The 2009 New York grant recipient, Cornell Cooperative Extension-Westchester County, reported cumulative improvements
in knowledge of nutrition and gardening among the
elementary school students who participated in their
Health and Nutrition from the Garden program. Of the
elementary school students surveyed, 17 percent
increased their knowledge of fruits and nuts and 28
percent increased their knowledge of vegetables and
herbs.
·
The 2008
Texas grant recipient, United Way of
Tarrant
County, reported that
parents who took part in its Little Bites, Big Steps
program showed improved knowledge of portion sizes for their
pre-schoolers, and that 80% of parents planned to make
changes, such as encouraging more exercise, cooking healthy
meals and limiting TV time.
For more information about the Dannon
Next Generation Nutrition® Grants please visit
http://www.dannon.com/dannoncares.aspx.
About this Year’s Dannon Next
Generation Nutrition® Grant Winners
- Open Door Family Medical
Centers
(New York)
Open Door has received the highest Recognition as a
Patient-Centered Medical Home™
(PPC-PCMH™) from the National Committee for Quality
Assurance (NCQA). This ranking distinguishes them from
medical practices across the nation as less than 12% are
presently eligible to achieve this advanced standing.
For 39 years, the federally qualified community health
center has served a multi-cultural community and has
provided top quality medical, dental care and social
services to the Westchester community, particularly the economically
disadvantaged. Open Door has four centers in Westchester
located in Ossining, Port Chester,
Mt.
Kisco and Sleepy Hollow. In
addition, Open Door operates five school-based health
centers in Port Chester at The Edison Elementary School,
Park Avenue
School,
Kennedy Magnet
School, Port
Chester
Middle School and Port Chester High School. In 2010, 43,505 patients were
treated at Open Door, making 170,061 patient visits. In
the same year 13,842 children were treated. Funding for
Open Door Family Medical Centers comes from local, state
and federal grants as well as private foundations and
individuals.
- Joint Township District Memorial Hospital (Ohio)
The anchor
facility of Grand Lake Health System,
Joint Township District Memorial Hospital is a full-service comprehensive care facility
located in St. Mary’s, Ohio. A charitable non-profit community
hospital, Joint Township District Memorial Hospital has been a cornerstone of health care in St.
Mary’s
Auglaize
County, and portions of a
four-county agricultural area, for more than fifty-seven
years. In 2007 and 2009 the hospital was recognized and
rated as being in the top 1% of all hospitals in the nation
for quality excellence and efficiency, and the Home Health
and ER services were ranked among the best in the U.S. With
the new expansion of state-of-the-art facilities,
development of programs utilizing advanced technologies, and
comprehensive services designed to meet evolving medical
needs, Joint
Township continues to
commit to the health and well-being of the Grand Lake
Region.
- Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service (Texas)
Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service
has been improving the lives of people, businesses, and
communities across Texas and beyond through high-quality,
relevant education for almost a century, working
hand-in-hand with its Texas A&M System partners, the state
legislature, and the communities it serves. Extension agents
focus on local needs through educational programs relating
to four core areas: Family & Consumer Sciences, 4-H & Youth
Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources, and Community
Development. With a vast network of 250
county Extension offices and some 900 professional educators,
the Texas AgriLIFE Extension is the largest state extension
system in the country, and its expertise is available to
every resident in every Texas
county.
- The YMCA of Greater
Salt Lake (Utah)
For 117 years the Y has been
listening and responding to communities in Utah, with the mission of
providing them with experiences that enhance healthy mind,
body and spirit while building strong kids, strong families
and strong communities. The Y’s vision is to be the leader
in understanding and meeting our communities’ needs by
creating and adapting quality programs and experiences that
provide value to youth and families.
The Y is and always will be
dedicated to building healthy, confident, connected and
secure children, adults, families and communities. The Y is
continually looking to provide value, to stay relevant and
to serve communities in the ways they need most. The
Y offers programs, services and initiatives focused on youth
development, healthy living and social responsibility,
according to the unique needs of the communities it
engages.
In
2010, the YMCA served over 3,690 individuals through its
programs. It is through Afterschool Programs, Camp Roger
and the Community Family Center that the Y is able to
instill its values (caring, honesty, respect and
responsibility) and accomplish its vision and mission.
About The Dannon Company, Inc.
The Dannon Company is America’s founding national yogurt company and
continually leverages its expertise to develop and market
innovative cultured fresh dairy products in the United States. Headquartered in
White Plains, NY, Dannon has plants in Minster, OH, Fort
Worth, TX, and West Jordan, UT and produces approximately
100 different types of flavors, styles and sizes of cultured
fresh dairy products. Dannon is a subsidiary of Danone, one
of the world’s leading producers of packaged foods and
beverages, and Dannon is the top-selling brand of yogurt
products worldwide, sold under the names Dannon and Danone.
With a strong commitment to
high-quality, wholesome, nutritious and innovative products,
The Dannon Company is committed to encouraging people to eat
a balanced diet and live a healthy lifestyle. In 2010, for
the tenth year in a row, Danone was listed on the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index, a worldwide reference for socially
responsible businesses. Danone is a recognized leader for
its contributions to nutrition and health and was ranked
best in class in a 2008 JPMorgan & Insight Investment study
about the response of the world’s largest food companies to
obesity and health-related concerns. This commitment is also
illustrated through The Dannon Company’s support of the
Dannon Institute, an independent, non-profit foundation
dedicated to promoting research, education, and
communication about the links between nutrition, diet and
health. For more information, please visit
www.dannon.com.
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