|
|
|
[Name of your organization] Teams Up with
President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
to Get America Moving
50th Anniversary Celebration Stresses Public-Private Partnerships
[Name of your organization] has announced its designation by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports as a ‘50th Anniversary Partner to Get America Moving!’ Through the partnership, the two organizations will jointly promote physical activity, fitness and sports throughout 2006, when the Council is celebrating its 50th Anniversary.
Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 as the President’s Council on Youth Fitness, the Council was later expanded to include Americans of all ages and abilities. Today, the Council is a federal advisory committee of up to twenty members, who recommend programs and initiatives on physical activity, fitness and sports to the President through the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). President George W. Bush established the HealthierUS initiative in 2002 to stress prevention through healthy lifestyle choices, including daily physical activity, sound nutrition, preventive screenings, and safe behaviors.
[Insert a quote from your spokesperson] Sample quote: “We are proud to work with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports as a 50th Anniversary Partner to Get America Moving,” said [name/title of your spokesperson]. “We congratulate the Council for fifty years of challenging Americans to be active, healthy and fit.”
[Insert details about your organization; describe specific health and fitness activities/programs/initiatives that your organization is planning and sponsoring in 2006 as part of the 50th Anniversary partnership: events, places, dates, times, sponsors, etc.]
[Quote from Melissa Johnson, executive director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (note: quote may be used partially or in entirety)]: "We’re delighted to have [name of your organization] as a 50th Anniversary Partner to Get America Moving,” said Melissa Johnson, executive director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. “We’ve established the 50th Anniversary partnerships to recognize the valuable contributions in health and fitness of our longstanding colleagues and friends and to establish relationships with new partners who are doing this vital work today. We’re fortunate at this time in our history to have a President who 'walks the talk.' For those who say they have no time to be active, we answer that the man who is arguably the world's busiest person understands how important it is to make time for physical activity in his day. If there were a prescription medication that produced all the health benefits of daily physical activity, everyone would take it. Physical activity is truly ‘the magic’ pill.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that Americans of all ages and abilities incorporate physical activity into their daily lives to help prevent cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers; to attain and maintain a healthy weight; to promote healthy bones and joints; and to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression. The year 2006 marks not only the 50th Anniversary of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports but also the tenth anniversary of the Surgeon General’s Report Physical Activity and Health (1996), which stated that regular moderate physical activity produces significant health benefits. HHS guidelines call for adults to engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on five or more days each week. Small steps, such as 30 minutes of walking a day, broken up into shorter increments of 10 or 15 minutes, can greatly improve health. For example, choosing to walk instead of driving, taking stairs instead of elevators, or pushing a lawnmower instead of riding all add up to better health. Children need at least 60 minutes of active play daily to be healthy. They need to run, climb, jump, and just get up and move around, away from their desks, the television and computer games.
For more information about events for the 50th Anniversary to Get America Moving in [name your area/community], contact [insert your contact information here].
For information about the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, go to www.fitness.gov. To start a physical activity and fitness program, log on to www.presidentschallenge.org and sign up to take the President's Challenge.
###
Back
to top
|
