Action for Healthy Kids
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11
"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: Skokie, IL
Founded: 2002
Mission: To engage diverse organizations, leaders and volunteers in actions that foster sound nutrition and good physical activity in children, youth and schools.
Tags:
national, childhood nutrition & health, nutrition programs, healthy schools, physical activity, education, research, education reform, business partnerships, resource services
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Rob Bisceglie.
Rob Bisceglie is executive director of Action for Healthy Kids, the nation’s leading nonprofit and grassroots network fighting childhood obesity by working with schools and families to help kids learn to eat right, be active every day and be ready to learn. He’s also the parent of two young children who fuel his desire to improve the lives of all…
See full bio.
Financial Data
Charity Navigator Rating:
(profile)
(profile)
Overhead Ratio:
11.98%
Total Revenue:
$4,127,597
From the Nonprofit
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Contact Info
Website:
E-Mail:
jbeiting AT ActionforHealthyKids.org
Phone:
800-416-5136
Facebook:
Address:
4711 Golf Road
Skokie, IL 60076, USA
Twitter:
Story:
How did Action for Healthy Kids educate the students and parents about the benefits of whole-grain? Read more about the school-wide whole grains challenge here:
The wellness committee sent parents a letter explaining whole grains and asked for packages/food labels from whole grain foods and created a large hallway collage. Then we had a free whole grains tasting, display, recipes at the annual fair fundraiser.
This Whole Grain Game On Challenge! which involved all 510 students, 51 staff, and all parents at Norwich Elementary provided an accessible, no cost challenge that educated all, giving examples and benefits of whole grains during March 2009. In addition, having a whole grains tasting during a family fun fair for all on the weekend inserted the topic into an unexpected setting. The food district food service director, who was involved on the building wellness committee, piloted several whole grains in the lunch menu during the month of March.
The whole grain menu sold so well that the district food service director has incorporated whole grains into all 14 elementary school daily lunches during the 2009-2010 school year. This school district is just beginning the process of finding projects to help implement and update the wellness policy, and challenges like this help grassroots efforts at the building level advocate for wellness by providing district administrators with examples of activities that can be incorporated into the school day without cost or interruption to academic activities.
(Read other success stories at: http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/school-programs/success-stories/school-wide-whole-grains-challenge.html)
Expert Reviews of Action for Healthy Kids
Evidence of Impact Summary:
Action for Healthy kids operates on multiple levels to improve the quality of nutrition in schools. Their grassroots efforts have helped improve health outcomes and policy outcomes for students.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
Beyond fundraising, the experts consider the organization's volunteer base and other resources to be their major strength.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
Experts cite a variety of areas for improvement with no clear theme emerging. Some mentioned ways in which the organization could broaden its reach and diversity of programming. Others consider opportunities to integrate programming to link issues related to childhood nutrition.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
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Impact |
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They have a broad reach, including in the state in which I live, and provide useful resources that are research-based which help local communities identify ways to make a difference. I am specifically familiar with work related to improving school lunch. | ||
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They have nationwide scope. | ||
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This is a national organization that has been able to create state level teams throughout the country to work on promoting school wellness. They have many specific programs they provide, as well as an excellent website. They did a webinar with our organization on a new national tool for coding school wellness policies and I was very impressed with the number of people they were able to reach to participate. | ||
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This group gives technical assistance to schools for the implementation of nutrition and physical activity programs. Their work is cutting edge and reached 4 million American kids last year, in over 8,000 schools. They provide numerous online resources for schools, parents, and children. | ||
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They have facilitated the creation and implementation of wellness policies for schools all over the United States. They have also signed on as a key partner with the First Lady's Let's Move campaign and have supported workshops and meetings to share best practices for health and wellness in the school environment. | ||
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They are able to effectively engage community members and practitioners in facilitating improvements that impact childhood obesity. | ||
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Their greatest impact is the extremely grassroots aspect of the organizational structure. By giving so much power to the individuals and groups that volunteer to run their local efforts, it has empowered individual schools and districts to really set up programs that address their needs. | ||
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They raise awareness and influence programs in all states, partnering with allied health organizations at community, state, and national levels. | ||
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They have an organization in every state (created within one year) that works with schools to implement some mix of 10 strategies. They have had multiple successes, varying by state. | ||
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They are a nationwide grassroots organization that has worked with over 8000 schools nationwide. Their focus is on involving parents, teachers, and students to advocate for change. They provide a number of toolkits that community groups can utilize to get started and maintain energy. | ||
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Their involvement across the nation and ability to inform about best practices signifies impact. | ||
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They have built an extensive infrastructure in nearly every state so they are positioned to impact schools and school feeding programs. | ||
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They have provided state and local action, grants to states, and work on Local School Wellness Policies. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Resources |
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Their available resources are a strength. | ||
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They have a strong volunteer base, good financial standing, and support. | ||
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They have a strong base of volunteers, excellent track-record of partnering, and allow local decision making of what works. | ||
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There is a high level of volunteer involvement, chapters in all states, many good resources, and action suggestions online. | ||
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They have done a good job of securing commitment of people at the local level. Apart from Dr. David Satcher, I don't know any of their leadership or staff at the national level, but I do know that they have made good contacts within states. | ||
Program Design |
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They were founded by Dr. David Satcher, who continues in a leadership role. They serve a unique niche in promoting school wellness. They have done emerging work related to urban schools. | ||
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Because they focus on grassroots efforts, they serve an important niche in the fight against childhood obesity. | ||
Leadership |
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The leadership of this organization is very strong. They travel around the country and are visible. | ||
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Their executive director is eloquent and passionate about children's health. The AFHK staff have provided technical assistance to state chapters to ensure they are successful at the local level in impacting children's health behavior and wellness policies in schools. | ||
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Their leadership by former Surgeon General David Satcher is a strength. Their state networks are in place and staffed which allows for tailoring to local needs. Finally, they have a clear agenda. | ||
Staff |
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Action for Healthy Kids is run by only a few key staff, with excellent use of volunteers in several states around the country. | ||
Fundraising |
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Fundraising is a strength. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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Collaboration |
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Their linkage to local networks and organizations, especially in urban areas could be stronger. | ||
Funding Base |
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It would be nice if they did not have to rely on any food industry funding at all. | ||
Operations |
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The state chapters could use more assistance in fund raising, grant writing, and technical assistance. Some of their programs are too complex for schools. | ||
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They could provide funds for additional staff at state levels. | ||
Impact |
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There is so much local ownership, it is sometimes unclear that the true impact of the local volunteer teams are making. It can sometimes seem disjointed and not always part of a national effort. | ||
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Although they are positioned to do so, I do not know of any specific evidence that they are actually changing the culture within schools. In our state, the vending machines remain in most schools, the school meals leave a great deal to be desired (they served nachos for lunch in the elementary school I visited last week). It is a big job to change the culture within schools and some communities do not understand the connection between nutrition/fitness and health as well as academic performance. | ||
Integrate Programming |
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They could acknowledge and promote links to other aspects of health, such as social and emotional health, in schools. | ||
Advocacy |
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Most state teams have few, if any, school-employed members. They started with strong political and corporate support, though their national level support is waning. They are just entering the advocacy arena. | ||
Fundraising |
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They need to improve their fundraising capacity. Because their focus is on grassroots efforts, and they are primarily volunteer led, it is difficult to sustain momentum sometimes. | ||
Transparency |
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They should make transparent any ties to corporate food interests. | ||
Independence |
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They need to make sure that they are not being controlled by the National Dairy Council. | ||
Leadership
Rob Bisceglie
Executive Director
Executive Director
From the Nonprofit
The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at
feedback@myphilanthropedia.org
with your request.