Healthy Weight and Your Child Program Enrolling for September 10 Start at Burke Memorial School

In response to a critical health care issue that can lead to serious health conditions including heart disease, diabetes and some cancers, the YMCA’s Healthy Weight and Your Child (HWYC) is an evidence-based, weight-management program that seeks to empower children and families through education, healthy eating, and physical activity. The program’s goal is to elicit positive change and help families learn skills and behaviors that enable them to live a healthier lifestyle so that children enter adulthood at a healthy weight.

foster the health and wellbeing of our students

"Medway Public Schools recognizes the importance of collaborating with community partners to best foster the health and wellbeing of our students,” says Dr. Ryan Sherman, Director of Wellness for Medway Public Schools. “We are extremely proud to partner with the Hockomock Area YMCA and Community Pediatrics of Medway, with the support of the Greater Milford Community Health Network, to assist our families in living a healthy lifestyle. Healthy Weight and Your Child has the potential to greatly impact our students' health and ability to learn."

Healthy Weight and Your Child is a 25-session program, which will begin Tuesday September 10, 2019 and run for 15 weeks. From September 10th through November 14th, participants and their parent or guardian will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Burke Memorial School (16 Cassidy Ln, Medway, MA). The final five meetings will run one day a week through December 17th. 

Each session includes content and physical activity. Made up of groups of 10 to 15 families (child and adult), the program creates a safe, fun, and active environment where families have the opportunity to explore and adopt proven methods to living a healthier lifestyle. Included in this program is a no charge family membership to the YMCA for the duration of the sessions.

HWYC program emphasizes three elements

The HWYC program emphasizes three elements: healthy eating, regular physical activity and behavior change, and engages the whole family, so together they can understand how the home environment and other factors influence the choices that lead to a healthy weight.

To be eligible for the program, each child must be between the ages of 7 and 13, have a body mass index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile, be cleared for physical activity by a health care provider or school nurse, and be accompanied by a parent or caregiver at every session.

Thanks to a generous grant from CHNA 6 and the continued support of the Stop and Shop Our Family Foundation, there will be no cost for the first ten families enrolled in the upcoming Medway class. Please contact marykateb@hockymca.org or call 508-339- 4053 to join HWYC. For more information, visit hockymca.org/franklin/healthy-weight-and-your-child/ and attend an information night for families on September 10th (also at Burke Memorial School).

About the Hockomock Area YMCA:

Where Cause Meets Community. At the Hockomock Area YMCA, strengthening community is our cause. The Hockomock Area YMCA is an organization of men, women, and children sharing a commitment to nurture the potential of kids, promote healthy living, and foster a sense of social responsibility.

The Hockomock Area YMCA is committed to partnering and collaborating with others to create and deliver lasting personal and social change in the 15 communities they are privileged to serve. The Hockomock Area YMCA is a not-for-profit charitable cause-driven organization with facilities in North Attleboro, Foxboro, Franklin, and Mansfield. For more information visit hockymca.org.