GAINESVILLE - The Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County received an Honor Award for their Sports, Fitness & Recreation program called "Club Fit" at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America's (BGCA) 104th National Conference held recently in New York, N.Y. MetLife Foundation sponsors the annual awards program.
The Honor Award for Program Excellence in Sports, Fitness and Recreation is presented to a Club conducting an outstanding program that helps young people become physically fit, make positive use of leisure time, develop social and stress management skills, and appreciate the environment.
The Club partnered with the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation in 2007. Through this relationship, the Club implemented the "Fit Zone" program. Fit Zone was established to battle the obesity epidemic and lack of fitness education. In 2009, the Club expanded Fit Zone into "Club Fit" to serve more youth through outreach programming. Club staff members implemented the program in four elementary schools through collaboration with the Gainesville City and Hall County school systems, along with two after-school programs in collaboration with the local YMCA.
Club Fit uses several fitness and education components that ensure impact. The SPARK Physical Education Active Recreation Program engages youth in age-appropriate activities, which are aligned with the Georgia State Physical Education standards. The SPARK programs provide 45 minutes of vigorous physical activity during each lesson. HOPSports is a unique, innovative fitness program that uses a multi-media instructional program delivered through Digital Video Recorder technology. The youth actively follow the fitness activities on the screen, with the instruction and assistance of the on-site Club Fit staff.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County received a $3,500 cash award in recognition of this achievement.
