News

SILVER SPRING, MD – August 28, 2018 – PHIT America and its GO! Grants are getting American children moving and physically active – by the hundreds of thousands. In just three years, the PHIT America GO! Grants have been awarded to 589 schools in 48 states. A total of 305,074 kids have benefited from the GO! Grants, which are a series of grants to elementary school P.E. programs.

“Our PHIT America GO! Grants work wonders. We are jump-starting physical activity in the lives of kids across America. And, we are now able to get kids moving for less than $10 per child,” said PHIT America Founder Jim Baugh. “We are looking forward to expanding the breadth and depth of the GO! Grants program. We have major programs being discussed for 2019 by four companies, some outside the sports industry.”

According to Baugh, PHIT America would like to thank the supporting brands who have provided the funding for the GO! Grants and have discovered that strategic geographic corporate partnership support is the key to successfully attacking the issue of physical inactivity in the U.S. Today, PHIT America is pleased to announced the large number of brands in the sports and fitness industry which have pledged their support for the PHIT America GO! Grants program, which is a series of grants to elementary school P.E. programs.

The list of brands in the sports and fitness industry which have pledged GO! Grant support this year to PHIT America include Active, ASICS, Babolat, Brunswick, Franklin, HEAD, HOKA ONE ONE, KEISER Fitness, Life Fitness, New Balance, Planet Fitness, Riddell, Saucony, Speedo, and Wilson.

“We are delighted with the level of response and support we have received from a number of brands in the sports and fitness industry for our GO! Grants program,” said Baugh. “These brands understand the importance of overcoming the ‘Inactivity Pandemic’ by growing participation and stimulating physical activity in the U.S., especially with children. These companies realize we must rebuild the ‘roots’ of physical activity which starts in our schools.”

To help a brand make a stronger connection to the local community where it has a corporate presence, PHIT America has been able to identify schools in need in specific geographic areas, thereby linking a brand with its local community such as ASICS in Austin, TX; Honolulu, HI; and Boston, MA…..Life Fitness in Chicago, IL…..Saucony in Menlo Park, CA; Wayland, MI; Burnsville, MN; Elk Grove, CA; Nashville, TN…..and New Balance in Naples, FL

“This is a classic case of companies taking care of their communities,” stated Baugh. “We invite all companies in the sports and fitness industry to work with PHIT America and adopt schools in their communities by providing a GO! Grant. We are the perfect CSR program. We help kids get active, improve their health, prevent healthcare costs, improve kids’ academic results and it’s done in local communities. And, for companies in the sports industry, we create new active participants and customers for life. I personally challenge any company to find a better way to grow participation while enhancing your brand and at less than $10 per child.”

The number of major cities whose local schools have been impacted by these GO! Grants stretches from coast to coast. The list includes Baltimore, MD; Washington, D.C.; Boston, MA; Rochester, NY; Atlanta, GA; Naples, FL; Chicago, IL; Austin, TX; Dallas, TX; St. Louis, MO; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Irvine, CA; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; and Honolulu, HI.

GO! Grants are awarded to school P.E. programs by PHIT America, with the support of KIDS in the GAME. In the past three years, nearly 600 PHIT America GO! Grants have been awarded nationally to school P.E. programs – helping more than 300,000 school children get physically active. The PHIT America GO! Grants help schools that are in desperate need of gear, programming or training for their physical activity programs.

There is a huge need for these PHIT America GO! Grants, as 48% of all high schools have no physical education programs, with many school districts having even cutting recess. With the average budget for physical education programs throughout the U.S. at only $762 per year for an entire school, it is estimated that more than 40,000 schools throughout the U.S. are in need of help.

The PHIT America GO! Grants range in size from $1,000 to $5,000 per school.

Founded in January 2013, PHIT America is a non-profit campaign focused on overcoming the severe ramifications of the ‘Inactivity Pandemic’ through three strategic approaches – education, supporting school-based activity programs, and advocating – which will get Americans, especially our youth, more active, fit and healthy. For more information about PHIT America, visit www.PHITAmerica.org.