Nearly $4 Million Pledged By The Coca-Cola Foundation To Get
Georgians Active
Success begins at home. To ignite The Coca-Cola Company’s global
commitment to fight the obesity epidemic, The Coca-Cola Foundation
announced grants to organizations across the Company’s home state. These
grants will provide increased access to community-oriented physical
activity and nutrition education programs.
“Together with Governor Nathan Deal and Mayor Kasim Reed, we are
inspiring our hometown of Atlanta and home state of Georgia to be
active,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company.
“Golden triangle efforts like these and others in Colorado, Chicago and
San Antonio amplify the active role we must all take in helping to
tackle the complex issue of obesity. We can only succeed with the
collaboration of local governments, community leaders and other willing
partners.”
The Foundation has pledged $3.8 million to support statewide initiatives
to help get people active and enjoy a balanced lifestyle, including
Georgia SHAPE and Walk Georgia initiatives. Georgia SHAPE, Governor
Deal’s strategy to address childhood obesity, is using the additional
funding to increase the time children are active before, during and
after school. The program will also include nutrition education
curricula for Georgia schools.
Walk Georgia was created by The University of Georgia’s Cooperative
Extension Service. This initiative focuses on community-oriented
physical activity programs customized by community members. Participants
can engage in a variety of activities such as dancing, cycling and
gardening and convert those actions into steps. Those steps are
converted into miles. As participants accumulate miles, they virtually
move across a map of the state, viewing fun facts about each county
visited and learning new ways to improve health.
“One of our strategic goals for the state is to reduce childhood obesity
and encourage healthy lifestyles through preventive care, disease care
and early intervention,” said Governor Deal. “Working with Coca-Cola and
others to strengthen programs such as Georgia SHAPE and Walk Georgia
gives Georgians of all ages and abilities more opportunities to become
physically active.”
A $1 million grant to the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta
supports the City of Atlanta’s Centers of Hope program. The program,
which also serves at-risk youth, brings physical activity, leadership
development, nutrition education and academic enrichment to almost 2,000
young Atlantans. Through the grant, the program will expand from its two
pilot locations to 10 of the City’s recreation centers. The initiative
has a multi-generational strategy, offering additional resources for
parents to receive their GED certification, along with parenting and
nutrition education workshops.
“Investing in Atlanta’s youth through programs designed to teach them
about the importance of wellness and physical fitness in a safe,
structured learning environment is one of my top priorities,” said Mayor
Kasim Reed. “This generous grant to support the Centers of Hope enables
the City of Atlanta to expand its successful pilot program at the
Thomasville and Adamsville Recreation Centers into a sustainable,
community-based initiative for young people.”
Additional Georgia grant recipients include:
-
The PATH Foundation, Make the Connection Campaign, $500,000
-
YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta and its branches, Empowering Healthy
Living, $75,000
-
Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, Healthy Atlanta BeltLine, $100,000
-
Piedmont Park, Kids Get Active, $30,000
-
Soccer In The Streets, Expanded Opportunities, $75,000
-
Ryan Cameron Foundation, Healthy Lifestyle, $25,000
Earlier today, The Coca-Cola Company announced four global strategic
business actions across the more than 200 countries in which it operates
to help fight the obesity epidemic:
-
Offer low- or no-calorie beverage options in every market;
-
Provide transparent nutrition information, featuring calories on the
front of all of our packages
-
Help get people moving by supporting physical activity programs in
every country where we do business
-
Market responsibly, including no advertising to children under 12
anywhere in the world
Coca-Cola continues to make the health of the communities in which it
operates a priority. The Company’s global actions and commitments to
fight obesity demonstrate its resolve to bring people together for good.
Through collaborative partnerships and programs, Coca-Cola is delivering
more beverage choices, calorie information and physical activity
opportunities than ever before. To learn more visit www.coke.com/comingtogether.
About the State of Georgia
For more information about the state of Georgia, please visit http://georgia.gov.
Follow GeorgiaGov on Facebook and Twitter @georgiagov. For additional
information about the Office of the Governor, please visit http://gov.georgia.gov.
Follow Governor Nathan Deal on Facebook and Twitter @GovernorDeal.
About the City of Atlanta
For more information about the City of Atlanta, please visit http://www.atlantaga.gov
or watch City Channel 26. Follow the City of Atlanta on Facebook and
Twitter @City_of_Atlanta. Follow Mayor Reed on Facebook and Twitter
@KasimReed.
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
Since its inception, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $500
million to support global sustainable community initiatives, including
water stewardship, community recycling, active healthy living, and
education. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please
go to:
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-foundation.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The
Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage
company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still
brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's
portfolio features 16 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta,
Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply
Orange, Georgia Coffee and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1
provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and
juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system,
consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of
more than 1.8 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to
help build sustainable communities, our Company is focused on
initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active,
healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our
associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities
where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the
world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system
associates.
For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com,
follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo
or check out our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com.
