The Boys & Girls Club of the Olympic Peninsula can continue to promote healthy lifestyles for its club members with $3,500 donated from UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.
This donation provides funding for programs surrounding mental health and well-being for more than 1,300 club members registered at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula.
Janet Gray, Sequim Boys & Girls Club resource development director said the donation benefits both the Port Angeles and Sequim club locations and funds programs such as Positive Action, SMART Girls and Triple Play. Triple Play, for example, demonstrates how eating right, keeping fit and forming positive relationships creates a healthy lifestyle.
“What they did was free up additional grant money for rural communities,” Gray said. “That’s why we got a little more this year.”
She said a lot of the club’s funding comes from individual or community donations and the opportunity to partner with a larger business that aligns with the club’s mission is a bonus.
“It’s really important to have a diverse income,” Gray said.
UnitedHealthcare is a part of UnitedHealth Group, Inc., a for-profit managed health care company that offers health care products and insurance services. It gave $40,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington which was divided among 18 other clubs whose missions aligned with that of the donation’s goals: supporting mental health programs for youths across the state including in rural areas.
In a press release, UnitedHealthcare said the Olympic Peninsula Clubs offer a variety of activities aimed at creating healthy lifestyles, small group mentoring and other locally developed youth initiatives.
“We are so grateful for our partnership with UnitedHealthcare Community Plan. Early engagement and support is crucial to improving outcomes for mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety,” Katya Miltimore, executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington State, said in the press release.
“For many youth, the club is the first place they turn to for support as they experience challenges at home or school,” she said. “This funding enables us to provide a safe environment to educate young people.”
Gray said the club has received donations from UnitedHealthcare in the past but this year was a larger amount for the club.
The donation also helps the club provide unique opportunities to promote mental health for club members, such as the anti-bullying assembly held in February that brought activist Gregory Marks and NFL New York Jets player Xavier Cooper to speak to club members about treating others with respect and how to respond to uncomfortable situations at the Sequim unit.
UnitedHealthcare partners with Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington and in addition to its annual commitment it also offers Medicaid clients free club memberships of $50. A membership fee for an Olympic Peninsula club member is $30 and Gray said this extra reimbursement could provide coverage for more memberships.
