Kaiser Permanente Joins with First Lady Michelle Obama to Kick-Off Let’s Move! Active Schools

Kaiser Permanente joined with First Lady Michelle Obama today in an auditorium overflowing with 6,000 local school children, teachers, dignitaries and several sport luminaries to celebrate the official kick-off of Let’s Move! Active Schools, a comprehensive new program to bring physical activity back to schools.

Kaiser Permanente’s Raymond J. Baxter, PhD, senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy, was on stage as the First Lady encouraged school leaders, families and communities to create “active schools” that incorporate physical activity before, during and after school for at least 60 minutes every day.

Adding to the active-school agenda, Kaiser Permanente, Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the National PTA announced the national expansion of Fire Up Your Feet!, an online walking and physical activity program that encourages staff, teachers, students and their families to walk or bike to and from school and to incorporate more physical activity into the school day. Fire Up Your Feet! provides a full range of family-engagement resources, simple ways to track activity and earn awards, and includes a fundraising option that offers schools a healthy way to raise funds. Health and education partners, parents, teachers and kids can visit www.fireupyourfeet.org to learn more.

To truly get the message across about the importance of physical activity in a child’s life, the Let’s Move! Active Schools event featured “America’s Largest Recess,” where 6,000 local children competed in games and contests that focused on physical activity. The children were joined by such notable athletes as Allyson Felix, Serena Williams and Gabby Douglas, to name a few. The event was hosted by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education Recreation and Dance and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

Kaiser Permanente has a longstanding commitment to support school and community health, and is a partner of Let’s Move! Active Schools and a founding member of the Partnership for a Healthier America, the nonpartisan non-profit charged with acting on the goals and vision of Let’s Move!. Earlier this week, Kaiser Permanente launched Thriving Schools: A Partnership for Healthy Students, Staff and Teachers to create a culture of health and wellness in schools. Fire Up Your Feet! is a major component of Thriving Schools. Thriving Schools promotes workforce health and student-focused interventions such as improving school lunches and increasing opportunities for physical activity. A host of tools and resources can be found on the Thriving Schools website at kp.org/thrivingschools.