For Immediate Release

Monday, Aug. 19, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Medway’s Burke-Memorial Elementary School Partners with YMCA on Healthy Lifestyle Program

Enrollment Now Open for Eligible Students, Info Session Sept. 10

MEDWAY — Superintendent Armand Pires is pleased to announce that Medway Public Schools is partnering with the Hockomock Area YMCA to promote the Healthy Weight and Your Child (HWYC) program.

HWYC is an evidence-based, weight-management program that emphasizes three elements: healthy eating, regular physical activity and behavior change, and engages the whole family, so together they can understand how the home environment and other factors influence the choices that lead to a healthy weight.

The program creates a safe, fun and active environment where families have the opportunity to explore and adopt proven methods to living a healthier lifestyle. Each session includes physical activity and lessons to encourage healthy living.

HWYC will have 25 sessions, which begin on Sept. 10 and will run for 15 weeks. From Sept. 10 through Nov. 14, participants and their parents or guardians will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Burke-Memorial Elementary. The final five meetings will be one day a week through Dec. 17.

“Medway Public Schools recognizes the importance of collaborating with community partners to best foster the health and well-being of our students,” said Dr. Ryan Sherman, Director of Wellness for Medway Public Schools. “We are extremely proud to partner with the Hockomock Area YMCA and Community Pediatrics of Medway, with the support of the Greater Milford Community Health Network, to assist our families in living a healthy lifestyle. Healthy Weight and Your Child has the potential to greatly impact our students’ health and ability to learn.” 

To be eligible for the program, each child must be between the ages of seven and 13, have a body mass index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile, be cleared for physical activity by a health care provider or school nurse and be accompanied by a parent or caregiver at every session.

Thanks to a generous grant from Greater Milford Community Health Network (CHNA 6) and the continued support of the Stop and Shop Our Family Foundation, there is no cost to families who enroll in the upcoming class. The class is limited to 16 families. A family membership to the YMCA is included with the program at no charge for the duration of the sessions.

Please contact Marykate Bergen at marykateb@hockymca.org or call 508-339-4053 to join HWYC. For more information, visit hockymca.org/franklin/healthy-weight-and-your-child/ or attend an information night for families on Sept. 10 at Burke-Memorial.

About the Hockomock Area YMCA:

The Hockomock Area YMCA is committed to partnering and collaborating with others to create and deliver lasting personal and social change in the 15 communities they are privileged to serve. The Hockomock Area YMCA is a not-for-profit charitable cause-driven organization with facilities in North Attleboro, Foxboro, Franklin, and Mansfield. For more information visit hockymca.org.

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