The leadership of the Resurgens Charitable Foundation determined they wanted childhood obesity to be their main focus in 2010. With an initial obesity summit last fall, multiple influential Atlanta organizations joined together to create PowerUp!, an initiative that launched February 22, 2010.
The PowerUp! team includes the Resurgens Charitable Foundation, partnered with the Georgia PTA, Kennesaw State University, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta, fitAtlanta Magazine, the Health Education and Communication Center of Atlanta, the Georgia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, the Georgia State Board of Education, and the Governor’s office. It is a unique partnership aimed at combating Georgia’s childhood obesity epidemic through behavior modification regarding physical activities and health and nutrition education.
The first PowerUp! Program was launched in YMCA After-School programs representing students from seven schools in the metro Atlanta area (Spalding Drive, Benefield, and a combination of students from Cedar Hills, Margaret Winn Holt, Craig, Pharr, and Simonton). The effort incorporates the YMCA’s successful Youth Fit For LifeTM (YFFL) program for children between 5 and 12. The 12-week program consists of cardiovascular exercises three times per week in the form of non-competitive activities and cooperative games. It adds resistance training twice a week using resistance bands and incorporates health and nutrition education.