ACTIVATE ANAHEIM

Activate Anaheim is a community collaboration led by the Anaheim Family YMCA to help make physical activity and health eating part of people’s daily lives. Activate Anaheim includes a robust coalition of partners: Anaheim Family YMCA, City of Anaheim, Disneyland, school districts, Anaheim Police Department, Tiger Woods Learning Center, Orange County Health Care Agency, and local faith-based organizations, businesses and residents.

Activate Anaheim was formed in 2009, and the group has been instrumental in changing school policies that limit sugary snacks and add fresh fruit, increasing daily physical activity in after-school programs, and bringing community healthy families fairs to local neighborhoods. The Y and Activate Anaheim have partnered with the Disneyland Resort, Disneyland and KaBOOM! to bring two new playgrounds to Anaheim—one at Edison Park and one at Stoddard Park. These are among the many highlights that help get kids and families physically active through play.

Activate Anaheim is focused on environment changes, supported through policy, promotion and education, which are known to have the greatest long-term effect on people’s behaviors in relation to physical activity and good nutrition. By working together, Activate Anaheim is committed to reversing the 39 percent local youth obesity rate in Anaheim, and related diabetes and chronic disease.

HEAL Zones (Healthy Eating Active Living)

In January 2012, Activate Anaheim received a $1 million grant from Kaiser Permanente to promote healthy eating and active living in Anaheim. The investment is part of Kaiser Permanente’s new three-year, more than $7 million HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living) Zones initiative across Southern California.

Each of Kaiser Permanente’s funded HEAL Zones will focus on three specific goals over the next three years:

• Decrease calorie consumption, especially sugar-sweetened beverages
• Increase consumption of healthy food and beverages (fresh fruits, vegetables and drinking water)
• Increase daily physical activity

“Funding from Kaiser Permanente will propel Activate Anaheim’s efforts to make physical activity and healthy eating part of people’s daily lives,” said John Guastaferro, Activate Anaheim Chair. “We appreciate not only the funding from Kaiser Permanente, but also the expertise and technical support they are sharing as part of this initiative.”

Activate Anaheim partners have begun a 9-month planning phase to develop a community action plan with input from local residents. The plan will focus on the neighborhood surrounding Edison Park—the same location where Activate Anaheim,with major support from the Dineyland Resort and KaBOOM!, built a new playground in the summer of 2011. The plan will be launched in late 2012 and implemented over three years.

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