Riverhead Schools First in State To Kick Off Project Fit America

Riverhead students are ready to get fit.

On Thursday, an opening day celebration is planned from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Pulaski Street School, to kick off Project Fit America.

Riverhead schools are the first in the state to win a $120,000 grant for the new fitness program, a partnership between Project Fit America, the Peconic Bay Medical Center, the Suffolk County Lions Club Diabetes Education Foundation, and the Riverhead Central School District. 

Elected officials, school administrators, elementary school students, the high school pep band, Quacker Jack from the Long Island Ducks and others will be onhand for the festivities. Students will demonstrate the new equipment.

In May, plans for the program, which aims to keep kids moving, prevent diabetes, and promote health and wellness, were announced. 

A grant from the SCLDEF will be matched by Peconic Bay Medical Center through funds raised from the 18th Annual East End Garden Festival.

The collaboration will result in the institution of the PFA program in all five Riverhead Central School District elementary schools. 

“The Suffolk County Lions Diabetes Education Foundation is proud to partner with Peconic Bay Medical Center and the Riverhead School District to help bring the first ever Project Fit America Program to New York State," Andy Viola, chairman of the SCLDEF said. "Our foundation’s mission is to promote wellness and awareness surrounding the issue of diabetes."

Ten years ago, the medical community found that Type 2 diabetes did not occur until after 40 years of age, Viola said. "Now it is regularly found in children. By partnering with Peconic Bay Medical Center and elementary schools, our foundation is able to ensure that every child in Riverhead has access to the necessary tools and education to make choices that will lead to a long and healthy life." 

Since 1980, childhood obesity has tripled, according to the U.S. Surgeon Generals’ Report. 

Formed in 1990, Project Fit America is a nonprofit organization that donates fully funded fitness programs to schools, creating new opportunities for children to be active, fit and healthy. 

The program includes state-of-the-art fitness equipment specifically designed to address the areas where children fail fitness tests; indoor mobile fitness equipment; a dynamic curriculum with games and activities kids can play on the PFA outdoor and indoor equipment; and in-class instruction on subjects such as smoking intervention, nutrition and understanding the body. 

“We are excited to be chosen as the first district in the State of New York to receive this grant,” Nancy Carney, Riverhead school superintendent, said. “We are looking forward to working with our partners for the health and benefit of our students.”

Peconic Bay Medical Center is the official founding sponsor for New York State, and the five Riverhead schools will serve as state model programs for fitness in education. 

“We are very excited for the opportunity to work with the Suffolk County Lions Diabetes Education Foundation and the Riverhead Central School District,” said Andrew Mitchell, president and CEO of PBMC Health & Peconic Bay Medical Center. “The partnership between these three organizations will serve as a cornerstone for insuring the health of our children.”

Research shows that not only is physical education important for a child’s physical development, it actually helps kids read and learn math. “A healthy active child is a better learner. Quality physical education has a direct impact on a child’s academic success,” Stacey Cook, executive director of Project Fit America, said. 

"As the first school in New York State to be recipients of this grant and benefit from this program, it is with excitement and determination that we look forward to working with our partners in the fight against obesity and childhood diabetes through education, wellness and physical education," Bill Groth, Riverhead's K-12 athletic, health and physical education director, said.