St. Michael Catholic School was among 5 Lee County schools who received $2,500 to purchase PE equipment, "expand[ing] existing exercise opportunities and combat[ing] obesity." Here at St. Michael, we believe in educating the whole child, which includes building the foundation for a healthy lifestyle!
Read on for more about the Sack Obesity Campaign, directly from the Acension St. Vincent Foundation:
Childhood obesity presents a serious threat to the health of children in the United States with 1 in 3 overweight or obese. It is proven that cultivating a healthy lifestyle early helps prevent chronic diseases. Funds generated from the 2022 Sack Obesity initiative will be used to purchase P.E. equipment in five greater Jefferson County and five greater Lee County elementary schools to expand existing exercise opportunities and combat obesity. Improving health and fitness has also been shown to have a positive impact on learning behavior in the classroom.
Physicians Realty Trust has committed a generous contribution of $750 to the Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation for every quarterback sack the Auburn defense makes during the 2022 season. Over the last five football seasons, Auburn has averaged 33 sacks per season with 36 total sacks last season (2021). Based on the average number of sacks expected during the upcoming season, each of the 10 elementary schools selected should receive a minimum of $2,500 to purchase new P.E. equipment upon completion of the football season in January 2023. And hopefully much more based on a stout defensive effort by the Tigers!
In October, each school will receive a web link to a personalized Amazon registry page where P.E. teachers and/or Principals can begin creating a “wish list” for their school’s P.E. department. The Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation will then fund these P.E. equipment requests in January 2023 once a final sack tally is reached and the equipment will be shipped directly to the school.