American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge™ Awards Grants to NE Schools
Through their Kids Heart Challenge™ the American Heart Association (AHA; www.heart.org/Lincoln) recently awarded grants to Messiah Lutheran School in Lincoln and St. Agnes Academy in Alliance to provide health equipment and resources for students and educators. The $3,760 awarded to the two schools is earmarked for new P.E. and sports equipment, with the aim of promoting whole-body wellness in support of physical and emotional health. The Nebraska grants represents a portion of the more than $400,000 that the AHA’s Kids Heart Challenge™ awarded to more than 180 elementary schools that participated in the program’s second year, 2019-2020.
The Kids Heart Challenge offers physical activations—including hoops or jumping rope paired with digital missions—to learn life-saving skills like Hands-Only CPR™. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, only 20% of kids get enough activity to meet physical activity recommendations. The Kids Heart Challenge is rooted in proven science, which has shown that kids who are regularly active have a better chance of a healthy adulthood. In addition to improved physical health, the benefits of physical activity for children include improvements in grades, attendance, and behavior.
The American Heart Association is the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all. For more information about local representation, visit www.heart.org/Lincoln, call (402) 875-7382, or email Shannon.M.Hilaire@heart.org.