Boston Children's Hospital

Childhood obesity is a multifaceted illness that demands determined minds, innovative approaches, comprehensive clinical care and a commitment to community education and advocacy to advance its prevention and treatment. This is exactly the scope of work of the New Balance Foundation Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Community Rowing, Inc.

Community Rowing Inc. (CRI) changes lives and communities by providing access to rowing and its profound physical and social benefits. New Balance Foundation supports CRI's Let's Row Boston, an initiative to bring rowing to all students in Boston public schools. Let's Row Boston encompasses CRI's Middle School Indoor Rowing Program, now in 40 schools, and its Row Boston high school team where students compete at the varsity level and receive academic tutoring, college tours and preparation, job training and work opportunities, and health and nutrition education.

Tenacity

Founded in 1999, Tenacity is a Boston‑based non‑profit dedicated to improving the scholastic, character and physical development of urban youth by combining tennis instruction and academic support with a focus on life skills. Tenacity has served more than 40,000 kids through after‑school, in school and summer programs. Having achieved a sustained high school graduation rate of 95 percent among its participants, Tenacity’s next goal is to achieve a sustained post‑secondary completion rate of 75 percent. Since 2002, New Balance Foundation has contributed more than $1 million to help Tenacity achieve its mission.

let’s get movin’, east boston neighborhood
health center

Since 2013, New Balance Foundation has supported Let’s Get Movin’, a multilevel, community‑based initiative of the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center designed to address childhood obesity in East Boston and surrounding communities. Let’s Get Movin’ takes a longitudinal approach to promoting lifestyle changes through physical activity, nutrition education and food access opportunities that provide children, teens and their families with tools and support as they incorporate healthy habits at home. A pediatrician referral is needed to participate in the program, which serves children ages 8 to 14 and offers after‑school and summer programs, field trips, community events such as an annual 5K Run for Fitness, as well as cooking classes and educational sessions for parents who want to learn more about how to build a healthy home environment and support their children lead a healthy lifestyle.

Squashbusters

Kids in Boston and Lawrence, MA face an uphill battle when it comes to high‑quality education and recreational opportunities. More than 25 percent of public school students do not graduate high school on time. Fewer than 30 percent of young people exercise regularly. These are kids growing up in neighborhoods with high rates of obesity‑related illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes. And these kids are SquashBusters reason for being.Read More

West End House Boys
& Girls Club

What do you do when a good number of the kids in your community are disadvantaged, when their families earn less than $25,000 per year, when they can’t count on a decent square meal every day? When you are the West End House Boys & Girls Club, you do it all, and you do it for the long term.Read More

Harlem Lacrosse Boston

Harlem Lacrosse (HL) has been growing every year since its inception in 2009. The program serves 900 students in 22 school‑based programs across 5 cities. Harlem lacrosse recruits student most in need of their support working in collaboration with school administrators to improve school attendance, grades, fitness and social‑emotional well‑being. Lacrosse is at the heart of HL’s “college‑going culture” and holistic approach to developing the social emotional skill sets of the children they serve. The sport of lacrosse is unique in its emphasis on elite college competition as the goal of every young lacrosse player. The team culture, perseverance, grit, and confidence that HL emphasizes translates directly into the classroom and students’ personal lives. Since 2009, 112 HL alumni have reached h.s. graduation age with a graduation rate of 89% (vs a 74% rate for their peers). With a grant of $400,000 in 2017, New Balance Foundation became HL’s lead funder, supporting program growth and infrastructure investments that will further HL’s commitment to serving kids from middle school through high school. New Balance Athletics and Warrior, Inc. serve as the official footwear and apparel outfitter.

Playworks New England

Playworks New England is committed to improving the physical health and social and emotional wellbeing of children in low‑income schools. Skilled Playworks coaches facilitate active and inclusive play, train 5th graders to serve as “junior coaches” and host sports leagues. Initially funding a recess coach in one Boston Public School in 2006, New Balance Foundation is now a lead funder of Playworks New England, helping the organization expand to 50 schools across Boston and Lawrence, MA. Beginning in 2011, New Balance Foundation also became a funder of Playworks’ national organization.

The Food Project

Since 1991, The Food Project has brought together youth and adults from diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to grow food for hunger relief and innovative food system initiatives in eastern Massachusetts. With support from New Balance Foundation since 2006, The Food Project is at the forefront of building and managing growing spaces for residents in food‑insecure neighborhoods, increasing access to affordable, fresh and healthy food, and pioneering programs promoting the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to purchase fresh food at affordable farmers markets and for Community Supported Agriculture shares.

Berklee College of Music /
City Music Program

Berklee City Music is a non‑profit program that provides music education to students in underserved communities. An out‑of‑school time, student‑centered organization, City Music takes a holistic approach to training musicians by building leaders and fostering community. Program participants receive theory and musicianship classes, one‑on‑one instruction, access to Berklee’s PULSE music method online curriculum and multiple other musical and educational opportunities. New Balance Foundation supports Berklee City Music’s annual gala fundraising program.

Cradles to Crayons

Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth through age 12 living in homeless or low‑income situations with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play. New Balance Foundation provides annual financial support for Cradles to Crayons’ Ready for School and Gear Up for Winter initiatives as well as an annual in‑kind donation of 3,500 pairs of kid’s shoes. The Ready for School initiative includes the Backpack‑A‑Thon that engages volunteers in filling thousands of backpacks with notebooks, pens, pencils, rulers and calculators. Gear Up for Winter supplies children with warm clothing, coats and boots.

Franciscan Children's

Franciscan Children’s provides compassionate, personalized and family‑focused care and education for children with special health care needs, helping each child find the courage to reach their full potential with integrity and respect. Established in 1949, the independent, nonprofit institution provides both inpatient and outpatient services along with primary care and dental services. Franciscan Children’s is also one of the largest providers of pediatric mental health care in Massachusetts. The Kennedy Day School at Franciscan Children’s provides collaborative special education, therapeutic and health services for up to 70 students, ages three to 21, with significant, complex needs from more than 30 cities and towns across Massachusetts. In 2019, Franciscan’s opened the New Balance Foundation Park, a multi‑functional play space and community gathering area with a variety of accessible equipment and activities for children of all levels of medical complexities and cognitive disabilities.

Dana‑Farber Cancer Institute

New Balance Foundation supports the Dana‑Farber Cancer Institutes’ Mammography Van, the only mobile digital mammography program in Massachusetts. The program provides screening mammograms and breast‑health education to women who are low‑income, elderly, immigrant and non‑English speaking. Breaking down cultural, linguistic, financial and logistical barriers to care, it makes mammograms more accessible to those least likely to obtain one. It also serves as a point of entry into the health care system, providing an opportunity to connect women to primary care. Founded in 1947, Dana‑Farber Cancer Institute offers expert, compassionate care to children and adults with cancer while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of cancer.

Special Olympics Massachusetts

For the past 50 years, the Special Olympics movement has been making the world a more inclusive place. By breaking down barriers, opening eyes and shattering expectations of individuals with intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics Massachusetts and its partners have helped communities across the state become more accepting and supportive. Special Olympics Massachusetts provides access to year‑round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of well‑coached Olympic‑type sports for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Athletes are provided with continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, prepare for entry into school and community programs, express courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympic Athletes and the community. New Balance Foundation provides annual financial support to Special Olympics Massachusetts. In addition, every May more than 80 New Balance associates volunteer at the Lawrence School Day Games by helping to time and score various track events, escorting athletes to their events and cheering for the athletes.

Groundwork Lawrence

Groundwork Lawrence is a community non‑profit that creates the building blocks of a healthy community and empowers Lawrence residents to improve their quality of life. Through its environmental education programming, which engages more than 1,200 Lawrence public school students from ages three to 19 annually, the program prepares young people to be stewards of their local ecosystems and leaders in their community. The Groundwork Lawrence Green Team, for example, recruits youth from the community to help with Lawrence beautification, grow food and maintain parks and community gardens. Since 2006, New Balance Foundation has invested more than $1 million in nutrition education, youth development, schoolyard and community gardens, and farmers markets. In addition, New Balance associates volunteer to harvest the urban farm crops, which are donated to local soup kitchens and food pantries and sold through three urban farmers markets run by Groundwork Lawrence.

Boys & Girls Club
of Lawrence

Consider this: One‑third of the children and youth in Lawrence, MA live in poverty. Nearly half are overweight or obese. Everyone agrees that it will take a concerted effort on multiple, overlapping fronts to realize long‑term improvement in the lives of these kids and their families.

Beyond Soccer

Beyond Soccer is a sports‑based, youth development organization that uses soccer to engage Lawrence youth and connect them to new experiences, on and off the field, to build confidence and create opportunities for leadership, healthy living and academic achievement. New Balance Foundation funding supports the Health Kicks! programs, which in addition to providing team soccer, also includes school‑day fitness and nutrition education, hands‑on cooking courses for players and parents, speed and agility workouts that promote cardiovascular strength and endurance, and summer camps. Collectively, these programs reach 2,000 Lawrence youth.

Central Catholic
High School

Central Catholic High School is an accredited and respected college preparatory high school in Lawrence, MA with an 83‑year tradition of providing a first class education to the children of Lawrence and the Merrimack Valley. In 2010, New Balance Foundation endowed a scholarship in perpetuity to fund the tuition of a deserving member from the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence for the full four years. A New Balance Foundation Scholar is named every four years.

Merrimack Valley YMCA/Active Science

Active Science is an evidence‑based solution to improve moderate‑to‑vigorous levels of physical activity while supporting academic achievement. A wearable activity monitor and mobile application linked to a cloud‑based data system are used to provide engaging interactive experiences and to track children's progress in a fun and informative way. Active Science is a social enterprise created by Dr. Kyle McInnis, Dean of Health Sciences at Merrimack College. New Balance Foundation funding supports the relationship with Merrimack Valley YMCA and Merrimack College to develop, test and disseminate Active Science in public schools and community organizations throughout Lawrence, MA, and supports its ongoing expansion to YMCA’s across the country in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Playworks New England

Playworks New England is committed to improving the physical health and social and emotional wellbeing of children in low‑income schools. Skilled Playworks coaches facilitate active and inclusive play, train 5th graders to serve as “junior coaches” and host sports leagues. Initially funding a recess coach in one Boston Public School in 2006, New Balance Foundation is now a lead funder of Playworks New England, helping the organization expand to 50 schools across Boston and Lawrence, MA. Beginning in 2011, New Balance Foundation also became a funder of Playworks’ national organization.

Squashbusters

Kids in Boston and Lawrence, MA face an uphill battle when it comes to high‑quality education and recreational opportunities. More than 25 percent of public school students do not graduate high school on time. Fewer than 30 percent of young people exercise regularly. These are kids growing up in neighborhoods with high rates of obesity‑related illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes. And these kids are SquashBusters reason for being.Read More

Special Olympics Massachusetts

For the past 50 years, the Special Olympics movement has been making the world a more inclusive place. By breaking down barriers, opening eyes and shattering expectations of individuals with intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics Massachusetts and its partners have helped communities across the state become more accepting and supportive. Special Olympics Massachusetts provides access to year‑round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of well‑coached Olympic‑type sports for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Athletes are provided with continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, prepare for entry into school and community programs, express courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympic Athletes and the community. New Balance Foundation provides annual financial support to Special Olympics Massachusetts. In addition, every May more than 80 New Balance associates volunteer at the Lawrence School Day Games by helping to time and score various track events, escorting athletes to their events and cheering for the athletes.

Healthy Oxford Hills

Healthy Oxford Hills, part of Western Maine Health, shares New Balance Foundation’s goal of reducing childhood obesity. The Healthy Oxford Hills Physical Activity and Nutrition initiative reaches 400 students before, during and after school in the Oxford Hills school district. The program aims to increase physical activity by 20 to 30 minutes during the school day as well as through New Balance Foundation‑funded after‑school activity programs and summer enrichment at the elementary and middle school levels.

Foodcorps

Together with communities, FoodCorps connects children to healthy food in school. FoodCorps helps schools become healthier places for kids to eat, learn and grow through hands‑on learning and healthy meals. New Balance Foundation supports FoodCorps AmeriCorps members in our local communities in Maine, where one in four children struggles with hunger. Through FoodCorps’ work, we are creating a future in which all children—regardless of race, place, or class‑get the nourishment they need to thrive.

MOVE MORE KIDS & LET'S GO at SOMERSET AT
REDINGTON-FAIRVIEW GENERAL HOSPITAL AND LET'S GO! 5‑2‑1‑0 AT THE BARBARA BUSH CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

New Balance Foundation has provided nearly $3 million to the Move More Kids program, facilitated by Redington‑Fairview General Hospital and the Let’s Go! 5‑2‑1‑0 program at The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. The two work collaboratively and in many cases double down on their impact to reduce childhood obesity. Working with childcare facilities, schools and after‑school programs, the Move More Kids program focuses on transforming environments and increasing the capacity of these agencies to create movement opportunities in Somerset County, Maine. Let’s Go! is a nationally‑recognized childhood obesity prevention program operating in Maine and Mt. Washington Valley, New Hampshire that reaches children and families where they live, learn, work and play. The program’s 5‑2‑1‑0 message is used to educate children and families with evidence‑based strategies for healthy eating and active living among children from birth to age 18.

Travis Mills Foundation

In recognition of 2016 Veterans Day, New Balance Foundation provided a capital grant to the Travis Mills Foundation to help fund the Travis Mills Foundation Veteran Family Retreat for physically‑disabled veterans and their families. The Travis Mills Foundation’s mission aligns with New Balance Foundation’s core values: the belief that people are meant to move and the commitment to strengthening community and serving others. Travis Mills, a retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who was severely injured while serving in Afghanistan, is one of five surviving quadruple amputees. New Balance Foundation has since granted to Travis Mills Foundation to sponsor veterans and their families to attend camp.

Camp Sunshine

Situated on Sebago Lake in Maine, Camp Sunshine is a retreat for children with life threatening illnesses and their families. Beginning in 2000, through pledges, donations, sponsorships and hands on volunteerism, New Balance Foundation has been instrumental in Camp Sunshine’s success and efforts to secure its future. Camp Sunshine has served more than 50,000 family members from 50 states and 27 countries. In 2019, New Balance Foundation pledged $1 million dollars to endow a week of camp benefiting approximately 40 families each year. The New Balance Foundation Week gives children with life threatening illnesses and their families the opportunity to re group, re energize and experience the “magic” of Camp Sunshine. During their time at Camp Sunshine, the families can set aside the challenges they face on a daily basis, connect with other families, develop resources and have some fun together as a family.