Healthy LifeStars has been awarded a $20,000 grant from Thunderbirds Charities to support the Virtual Lesson Expansion and our hybrid model for After School programs in schools for our underserved communities.

This project will help create additional “At Home” Resources for families and help translate our parent guides into Spanish as an initial project for additional language resources for parents. The grant funds will also allow us to launch a pilot project expanding our Older Child (9-12) resources.

According to the CDC, childhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States, putting children and adolescents at risk for poor health, which often continues into adulthood. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer that are some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death. The CDC reported that obesity is a risk factor for severe symptoms if infected with COVID-19. Obesity greatly impacts health and well-being of individuals and taxes the healthcare system.

“The Board of Healthy LifeStars® is honored to receive this grant from Thunderbirds Charities to help reduce health disparities in children in Maricopa County. It couldn’t have come at a more important time” said Melanie Campbell, Healthy LifeStars, Executive Director.