Anthem Blue Cross Foundation Awards $20,000 Grant To Boys & Girls Clubs Of The North Valley

CHICO, Calif., Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Boys & Girls Clubs of the North Valley debuted a brand new Gamesroom on Wednesday, August 9th, thanks to a $20,000 Triple Play grant from Anthem Blue Cross Foundation.  The grant provided much-needed updates in equipment and supplies for the Club's Gamesroom which is the central hub for kids to learn about teamwork, leadership and participate in physical activities.

The Gamesroom is a dedicated space within a Boys & Girls Club where members are able to take part in a wide variety of games and activities and can socialize with their friends. It is the most utilized program area in the Boys & Girls Club and as a result takes significant wear and tear.

The renovation of the new room is made possible locally through the support of Anthem Blue Cross Foundation and includes areas where kids and teens can participate in educational activities that teach them social skills that enable them to relate to others effectively and how to contribute in positive ways to the culture around them.  

"California's youth face an obesity crisis," said Steve Melody, president at Anthem Blue Cross Medicaid Health Plan. "We are proud to partner with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the North Valley to provide a safe environment for the kids in our community to play hard, learn and practice teamwork and forge lifelong friendships."

While the Gamesroom is a flurry of activity, with a number of different games happening at the same time, it is positive environment where character development, teamwork and conflict-resolution lessons are occurring as part of the Club's Triple Play program.

Triple Play is Boys & Girls Clubs of America's signature health and wellness program focused on the mind, body and soul to teach kids and teens about living a healthy lifestyle. Since 2005, Triple Play has made connections with more than 10 million youth around the country.

"We must do everything possible to provide a state-of-the art environment where kids and teens can learn and develop the leadership and social skills needed to be great inside and outside of the Club. This new Gamesroom will help our Club members develop social and emotional wellbeing, a key component to achieving success in working with others and a great future," said Rashell Brobst, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the North Valley. "We're very excited about the improvements and we thank Anthem Blue Cross Foundation for their commitment to our Boys & Girls Club and the Chico community."

Social recreation is essential to the healthy development of children and teens. Through the Triple Play program, Boys & Girls Clubs are influencing the next generation of leaders who are socially and morally sound.

An evaluation conducted by Youth Development Strategies, Inc. in 2009 found that the Triple Play program has improved youth's interactions with peers at the Club. The study also proved that Triple Play helps both youth who start with good quality peer relationships and those who start with poor ones improve social interaction.

About Triple Play
Sponsored by The Anthem Foundation and The Coca-Cola Company, Triple Play is Boys & Girls Clubs of America's signature health and wellness program. Triple Play began in 2005 and focuses on nutrition and health education, access to healthy meals, and teaching youth how to commit to fitness as well as positive relationship building and self-confidence elements. Learn more about the program at www.bgca.org/tripleplay.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of the North Valley
For 22 years, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the North Valley has been at the forefront of youth development in after-school and teen services at 10 club sites throughout Butte and Glenn counties. Annually we are impacting the lives of more than 2,000 youth in Chico, Paradise, Magalia, Oroville and Hamilton City. Our mission is to inspire and enable all youth to reach their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.

About Anthem Blue Cross Foundation
Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Association promotes Anthem Blue Cross's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that the company serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Associate Giving program and its parent foundation provides a 50 percent match of associates' pledges. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross names and symbol are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association.

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SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America