Richmond Organization Awarded $80,000 in Community Grants

To help advance our community's health, the Greater Richmond Fit4Kids received a grant from the Aetna Foundation, as part of the Cultivating Healthy Communities initiative, to help combat adolescent obesity in Richmond. Cultivating Healthy Communities grants are awarded to organizations committed to promoting healthy and active living, strengthening health equity and advancing innovations that make it possible for people to have more healthy days.

A coalition of 15 organizational partners has teamed up with Greater Richmond Fit4Kids to engage and train youth, parents and the community through the new Healthy Kids RVA Academy. The program will help tackle issues such as increased access to recess, healthy breakfast meals and active learning in the classroom.

This grant comes at a critical time when more than 14 percent of Virginia adolescents are overweight – a rate greater than the national average.

With the help of the Aetna Foundation and the Cultivating Healthy Communities initiative, Richmond is working to arm the community with the tools they need to combat obesity in our city’s youth.

To learn more about the Cultivating Healthy Communities initiative, please visit: https://news.aetnafoundation.org/press-release/health-care-equity/aetna-foundation-awards-more-24-million-grants-help-improve-health-.