KEEP fights childhood obesity

Vernon — KEEP (Kids Educational Enrichment Program) recently received funding from Youth Serve America and United Healthcare of NJ in support of its service learning project to combat childhood obesity at the NJ After 3 KEEP program in Vernon. The UnitedHealth HEROES program works to help young people take action in improving the overall health of their friends, families and communities. Youth Service America is an International nonprofit resource center that partners with organizations to expand the impact of the youth service movement. Close to home Now, in the NJ After 3 KEEP in Vernon, children will be participating in fun activities designed to keep them fit and teach them healthy nutrition habits. The program will culminate on Global Youth Service Day in April, the largest service event in the world. KEEP’s project will include a healthy snacks booklet created by the children that will be distributed throughout the Vernon schools, along with a Fitness Olympics on Global Youth Service Day. New Jersey has the highest rate of obesity in children under 5 (17.7 percent) in the nation and a recent study done by the Department of Health and Senior Services found that 20 percent of New Jersey’s children are obese, a rate 5 percent greater than the national average. KEEP has designed programs including its KEEPFit initiative to help children learn healthy habits. Who can join Children enrolled in kindergarten through fourth-grade are eligible for enrollment in the NJ After 3 KEEP program. As with all of KEEP’s programs, from Project KEEP to L’il KEEPers (for infants through kindergarten students) to Summer KEEP, unlimited financial assistance is available to all who qualify. KEEP is also providing snow and holiday day care, including Martin Luther King Day, to all school-aged students throughout Sussex County. Call KEEP at 973-383-2213 or visit its Web site at www.keepkids.org for more information or registration packets.