AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership Brings Healthy Hoops® Program to Palm Beach County
Program Offers Basketball Clinics, Educates Local Children About Asthma
West Palm Beach, Fla.
AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership staff joined volunteers from the AmeriHealth Caritas Florida Care Crew and the community to hold five Healthy Hoops events in Palm Beach County, including this one at Delray Beach Boys & Girls Club on June 13.
AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership, the corporate foundation of AmeriHealth Caritas, brought the dynamic and educational Healthy Hoops® program to Palm Beach County, holding events in collaboration with five Palm Beach County Boys & Girls Clubs from June 13 to June 16.
The four days of activities attracted over 1,200 Boys & Girls Clubs summer camp participants throughout Palm Beach County. Staff volunteers from the AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership, the Boys & Girls Clubs, and the community led the young participants in basketball clinics and provided educational and entertainment opportunities.
The program educates local children on the challenges associated with asthma and how to adopt healthy lifestyles. According to Florida Department of Health 2021 data, approximately 10% of the state’s middle and high school students currently have asthma.1
Healthy Hoops is a community-focused, hands-on program that teaches children and their families how to manage asthma and its related health conditions. Using basketball as a platform, Healthy Hoops provides a fun, active learning environment for children ages 3 to 18. At the same time, it encourages them to adopt healthy lifestyles and behaviors, helping them to better understand their asthma, reduce or eliminate chronic diseases, and take charge of their health — on and off the court.
At each of the five local events, kids learned useful health information and received hands-on basketball advice from coaches. The children also received Healthy Hoops items, including basketball hoops, t-shirts, reusable water bottles, basketballs, sports bags, and basketball pumps.
About AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership
Founded in 2011 by AmeriHealth Caritas as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership addresses health and health care disparities by expanding health promotion programs to locations across the country. These evidence-based award-winning initiatives educate vulnerable communities about the importance of promoting healthy choices and adopting healthy lifestyles. For more information, visit www.amerihealthcaritaspartnership.org.
Wellington, Fla., Mayor Anne Gerwig (front row, center) stopped by to visit the AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership’s Healthy Hoops event at Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club in Wellington on June 14. She was joined by Wellington Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Cergile Sincere as well as AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership staff and AmeriHealth Caritas Florida Care Crew volunteers.
- Florida Youth Tobacco Survey Data. Florida Department of Health, Division of Community Health Promotion. Accessed June 21, 2022. https://www.flhealthcharts.gov/ChartsReports/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=YouthTobaccoState.Dataviewer&bid=0013