Action for Healthy Kids, in partnership with the National Football League, developed ReCharge! Energizing After-school™, the first nationally distributed after-school program that fully integrates nutrition and physical activity through teamwork-based strategies for youth in grades 3-6. ReCharge! focuses on four concepts – "Energy In" (nutrition), "Energy Out" (physical activity), Teamwork and Goal-Setting. Since its introduction in fall 2005, ReCharge! has been distributed to over 8,000 after-school programs across the country, reaching over half a million students.
ReCharge! promotes national standards for health education, physical activity and family involvement, as well as the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Each ReCharge! kit includes an instructor’s notebook with 29 hands-on lesson plans, equipment to implement the lessons, a training DVD, poster, healthy snack guide, NFL players’ cards and newsletters for families.
To learn more about ReCharge!, visit the ReCharge! Training Center. The ReCharge! Training Center provides tools and resources to train after-school program personnel and serves as an ongoing source for technical assistance and program information.
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What After-School Programs are Saying About ReCharge!
ReCharge! Energizing After-school™ is extremely well received by after-school directors, staff and others involved in after-school program planning, support and delivery.
After-school instructors* say ReCharge!...
- Positively impacts students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward healthy eating, physical activity, and setting personal wellness goals.
- Increases student satisfaction with and participation in the after-school program.
- Is fun, easy-to-use and adaptable to a variety of programs and after-school settings.
“I love all the Spanish materials as many of the kids here are Latino. I also love the DVD with drills and the flash cards are phenomenal. I love the playbook style - the kids don’t even realize they’re working on reading, which is phenomenal. I also love the tips for tracking - energy in, energy out. Everything is nice and simple…I even think kindergarteners could understand!”
Florida
“My first impression of the program was that developers had put a lot of time and effort into the kit. We used the games in module one and two and the children really enjoyed these. We also used the football cards as a reward and the children thought these were great.”
New Mexico
Partnering for Success
Action for Healthy Kids has formed national and state partnerships to distribute ReCharge! to after-school programs serving communities with the greatest need. Partnerships have been formed with LA's BEST, the National Afterschool Association and the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.
Action for Healthy Kids and LA’s BEST will place 175 ReCharge! Kits –reaching over 26,000 children – throughout the City of Los Angeles. LA's BEST is a nationally recognized program and provides a safe haven for children, ages 5 to 12, at 180 elementary school sites each day during the critical after-school hours — at no cost to parents.
In addition, Action for Healthy Kids is partnering with the National Afterschool Association to distribute ReCharge! kits across the nation to after-school programs delivering services to areas with significant educational, economic and health disparities.
The New Orleans Saints and the Louisiana Action for Healthy Kids Team have partnered to promote and distribute ReCharge! in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Johns Parishes, some of the most devastated areas from Hurricane Katrina. Eligible schools received a free ReCharge! kit and were entered into a drawing to train for an afternoon with New Orleans Saints corner back Mike McKenzie #34 at the Saints’ practice field.
Action for Healthy Kids is dedicated to giving back to the community through partnerships that support our vision, mission and goals.
*Based on a utilization survey conducted with 413 program recipients (primarily after-school directors and instructors) in spring 2006, where at least 90% of respondents agreed that the program achieves each of the impacts and attributes listed above.