Healthy Kids is an innovative program created by the Joy of Sports Foundation designed to focus on the reduction of risk factors for childhood obesity, as well as the improvement of both fitness and nutrition levels for each participating child. Healthy Kids engages children in sport-based activities customized to improve life skill acquisition, raise nutritional literacy, and build healthy eating habits, thus starting each child on their own path towards a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Healthy Kids incorporates educational training opportunities for staff and parents, providing an integral blueprint for assisting the children in their effort.

The major objective of Healthy Kids is to empower children as they learn to build the skills, habits, and knowledge base necessary to lead healthy and successful lives. To ensure a comprehensive and supportive environment for each child throughout the program, JSF provides the recipient communities (staff, parents, local healthcare providers) with educational opportunities in Healthy Kids programming.

Healthy Kids employs experienced JSF trainers and coaches to provide on-going training to both facility staff and parents. The incorporation of these trainings allow JSF to offer the benefits of these programs to all children at the participating facility, and thus support those children in developing and maintaining healthy lifestyles. By creating a multi-faceted effort in enhancing the lives of the children we serve, JSF can ensure that each child is supported in every aspect of their lives through Healthy Kids.

Healthy Kids offers children:
Life Skill Focused Sports & Fitness Activities:
Healthy Kids features activities from Star Power, as well as JSF’s Multi-Sport Plus, Basketball Plus, Star Soccer, and Tennis Plus curricula. Star Power is a non-sport-specific curriculum that uses physical activity to help children develop self-esteem, cooperation, concentration, imagination, relaxation, and other key life skills. Our multi-sport, basketball, soccer, and tennis curricula are designed to support children in building the same life skills while they learn how to play these sports.

Nutrition Education:
Healthy Kids also provides nutrition education through JSF’s Green Light Nutrition curriculum, which helps children learn about nutrition through physical activity. Green Light Nutrition helps children distinguish between positive food choices (green light) and negative food choices (red light) by teaching them the basic principles of the food pyramid, how to read food labels, basic vitamin and mineral knowledge, and what foods provide what sources of energy.

Healthy Kids Club

The Healthy Kids Club serves as our after-school program, created to help reinforce the principles learned through Healthy Kids.

The Healthy Kids Club activities incorporate our “Seeing The Star In Every Child” coaching philosophy, which emphasizes the importance of helping children discover the joy of physical activity without the pressure to perform. We meet every child at their personal level and, through encouragement and nonjudgmental feedback, help them to progressively build their skills, self-esteem, nutritional knowledge, and fitness levels. Children find fulfillment in doing their best and making steady progress, rather than measuring themselves against other youngsters.

To ensure continuity of program efforts, parents will be offered educational opportunities and will be provided with useful information (including games for the home and family dietary guides). Events focusing on parental involvement help parents learn activities they can do at home with their children. Parental participation motivates the children, reinforces the information after-school programming provides, and encourages active and healthy lifestyle choices.

By providing Healthy Kids programming, JSF will create a significant impact on the fitness and nutrition levels of participating children and their families, thereby reducing risk factors for obesity and other diseases within our target community.