“Let Me Play Head Start,” a joint Nike – National Head Start Association initiative to get kids physically active starting at a young age, will expand in 2008 to include 115 new Head Start sites in 15 cities across the United States. Formerly known as “NikeGO Head Start” the joint program with Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids already has reached 322 Head Start sites in its first three years, training 1,079 staff and parents in 20 cities encompassing an estimated 12,600 Head Start preschoolers.
Let Me Play Head Start will expand this year with an additional 15 trainings for parents and teachers. The program currently operates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, Orlando, Anchorage, Memphis, Salt Lake City, and Portland, among others. The additional 15 training locations are being selected based in large part on the prevalence of childhood obesity and other health problems related to physical inactivity among preschoolers.
In addition, Let Me Play Head Start will offer challenge grants to Head Start operators that have been working with the Nike/NHSA program for at least a year. These grants of $5,000 will allow Head Start programs to achieve new inroads in terms of spreading the Let Me Play philosophy.
NHSA's Board Chairman Ron Herndon said the initiative builds on an eight- year relationship between Nike and the National Head Start Association. Currently the largest private funder of NHSA, Nike is issuing a series of one- year grants, with specific performance requirements, totaling $2.5 million over five years.
“As childhood health woes continue to rise, we are compelled to continue to provide opportunities like the Let Me Play Head Start partnership to enhance children's love for physical activity, especially at an early age,” said Chad Boettcher, Director for US Corporate Responsibility, Nike. “By increasing the number of cities that offer the Let Me Play Head Start program, we can increase the number of children, parents and families who make physical activity a regular part of their lives and help prevent sedentary lifestyles before unhealthy practices can take hold.”
NHSA President and CEO Sarah Greene said: “We are excited to continue our partnership with Nike and look forward to continuing to educate parents and teachers in the importance of stressing physical activity from an early age as an important tool in combating childhood obesity, which has been a growing problem in our country over the past few years. Head Start has always focused on the entire family, not just the kids, as an important component of their education and development. The Let Me Play Head Start Initiative teaches parents along with their kids so physical activity becomes a family activity.”
Let Me Play Head Start understands how parents can play a critical role in raising healthy children and provides them with the resources to replicate the program's activities in the home. In addition to receiving the Playbook and SPARK training, participating Head Start sites will receive Nike donated equipment necessary to implement the program — including parachutes, easy-to- catch balls, beanbags and balance beams. Head Start instructors receive a “playbook” of activities that are fun, inclusive, developmentally appropriate and aligned with Head Start Child Outcomes. Parents and children learn how ordinary objects like socks and scarves can be used for movement and physical activity.
