FitCity Indianapolis started back in 2005 as a social marketing initiative to help the Indianapolis community fight child obesity, at a time before the issue was on the daily radar of the city. Our goal – then and as it is now – has been to provide mothers and families with the information, resources, recipes and support to live healthy, active lives.

FitCity was one of the first organizations to recognize the childhood obesity crisis, and according to our funder, we have met its goal of raising fitness awareness and connecting families to healthy resources.

In the past seven years, we have:

Interacted with approximately 28,673 individuals at over 350 community events,

Participated in over 125 youth-only targeted educational sessions,

Created 14 challenges/contests,

Engaged more than 4,000 followers through social media,

And, through the amazing efforts of our Mom Bloggers, this FitCity Moms blog has been shared health information and support for area families, with over 350 posts to inspire moms to write over 1,400 comments

We were able to achieve these results because of the generosity of The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis, FitCity Indianapolis’ primary funder, which has provided a forum for public discussion about childhood obesity in greater Indianapolis for nearly a decade!

From the beginning, The Health Foundation and FitCity, a division of Learning Well, Inc., has worked closely with other community partners to support their efforts to create a truly fit Indianapolis. So we were excited when, on May 22, the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis and a coalition of businesses and organizations kicked off a new coalition effort called the Top 10 by 2025 with the goal of becoming one of the top 10 healthiest communities in the next 13 years.

Rather than duplicating the efforts of the coalition and work of other organizations to make the Indianapolis community a healthy city, the Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis and FitCity, a division of Learning Well Inc., are working with coalition leaders to utilize the current FitCity Indianapolis resources to better support the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis’ Top 10 by 2025 Initiative and the efforts of its coalition partners. I invite you to visit the website to learn more about you can support this initiative.

As for the FitCity Moms blog, several of our Moms will say their goodbyes and share their final posts this week. I have to thank each of our FitCity Moms – Amy, Liz, Jennifer, Kelly, Rhonda, Jennise, Danielle, Cheryl, Lisa, and Bridget – for making the blog consistently engaging and informative over the years. Most importantly, I want to thank you for reading, commenting and sharing your own struggles and successes and being a resource to other moms on their own health journeys.

I encourage each of you to check out the resources of the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis and the Top 10 by 2025 coalition members by visiting its website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. Meanwhile, stay active! Soon, you will be known as the early adopters in what will be a truly fit city – Indianapolis.

Tags: childhood obesity, Indianapolis, Learning Well Inc., The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis, Top 10 by 2025, YMCA

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