Date
Contact Name
Foundation Name
Address
City, State, Zip
RE: Technology to Help Boys & Girls Club Battle Childhood Obesity and Inactivity
Dear Contact Name,
Every day, the YOUR Boys & Girls Club strives in a meaningful manner to change young lives by
helping members achieve positive outcomes relating to a wide range of issues.
Sadly, one of the greatest issues facing youth at the YOUR Boys & Girls Club is childhood obesity.
ENTER YOUR OBESITY RATES HERE.
The YOUR Boys & Girls Club is writing to you today to ask for a generous donation that will allow us
to install groundbreaking technology, SMARTfit by Multisensory Fitness, Inc., into our facility that
can go a long way in helping YOUR Boys & Girls Club win the battle against childhood obesity in our
market.
We believe that by introducing SMARTfit technology, our club can help obese youths establish
positive physical fitness habits that can last a lifetime. It’s rare that we find a progressive system or
practice that can engage such a broad range of our members.
In our state, inactivity and obesity in youths is something of an epidemic. Clearly, these are major
issues in our community, and SMARTfit can assist in tackling these issues by providing an enjoyable
exercise option that also stimulates the brain.
SMARTfit’s “Vitality Gaming Systems” attract and captivate youths like a modern video game, but
instead provide a unique multisensory workout. Simply put, SMARTfit systems can go a long way in
helping our members achieve a healthy lifestyle while elevating the opportunity for academic
success and bolstering character and citizenship.
The YOUR Boys & Girls Club has been serving COMMUNITY NAME community since YEAR with a
wide range of wellness programs that are designed to build healthy lifestyles in youth and families.
As we begin to embrace new technology that can help us facilitate more advanced programming, we
ask for your support in introducing SMARTfit into the
YOUR Boys & Girls Club.
Sincerely,
Name Title
FUNDING PROPOSAL
Using New Technology to Address Local Childhood Obesity Issues
SUBMITTED TO: YOUR Boys & Girls Club
I.
PROJECT SUMMARY
The mission of the Boys & Girls Club of America is to enable all young people to reach their full
potential, and we’re constantly assessing the best ways we can introduce new practices and
technology to help battle a wide range of the issues that are facing our local youths.
Arguably the largest and most pressing issue we face today is that of childhood obesity. According
to StateOfObesity.org, the childhood obesity rate in YOUR REGION is over ___% in certain segments
of the population. We need to do something about this massive issue, and we believe we have
found a technology, SMARTfit by Multisensory Fitness, Inc. that inspires kids to establish positive
physical fitness practices unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years. To introduce this technology,
the Boys & Girls Club needs the support of your organization.
The YOUR Boys & Girls Club has already received a grant from Multisensory Fitness to install
their progressive technology. We are
now working with organizations like
yours to raise the remaining balance of
funds necessary to install SMARTfit at
our facility.
In our interactions with SMARTfit,
we’ve seen how their “Vitality Games”
attract and motivate youths like a
standard video game, but instead
provide a brain-body exercise that can
allow kids to establish healthy physical
fitness habits and combat obesity over the long-term.
One of the greatest issues we face with obese youths is getting them to take a leap of faith, and
participate in a play or physical fitness-based activity. But SMARTfit’s gaming walls build a bridge
to physical fitness for kids that may not have been interested by engaging them in games similar to
the video games they love and play so frequently.
(YOUR Boys & Girls Club FILL IN FINANCIAL ELEMENTS)
II.
BUILDING A BRIDGE TO POSITIVE PHYSICAL FITNESS HABITS
Recent data from Kaiser Permanente suggests that children and young adults are spending as much
as 8.5 hours per day interacting with media, watching television, using computers and smart
phones, and playing video games. Projections indicate that “screen time” is likely to continue to
increase, rather than decrease.
This is, quite obviously, a leading factor for
childhood obesity. While researchers,
foundations, and companies around the
world spend hours working to develop
complex solutions, SMARTfit has, incredibly,
utilized the problem itself to develop a simple
solution.
“If kids want to play computer/video games,
let them play computer/video games,”
SMARTfit CEO Cathi Lamberti told us, “But let
them interact with computer/video games in
a multisensory environment that stimulates
brain, body, and all five senses.”
When the SMARTfit team has conducted live demos at Boys & Girls Club locations across the
country, what amazed them most was how young members were remarkably interested and
motivated to repeatedly participate in SMARTfit games. Every day, the YOUR Boys & Girls Club
offers a wide range of sports games and physical fitness opportunities. But nothing like this.
While our regular practices can be highly effective and entertaining to our members, SMARTfit can
help those that don’t participate in daily physical activity to adopt daily play and exercise habits.
SMARTfit, specifically, speaks to those that may be hesitant or afraid to take part in challenging
team sports like football, basketball, and more.
In our eyes, SMARTfit “Levels the Playing Field” by introducing programming that gives youths of
all skill levels the ability to leave sessions
feeling positive, simply by improving on
their own scores throughout the session.
That’s exactly what we want. Inclusive
programming that engages and attracts
youths of all abilities to adopt daily exercise
habits. Once we’re able to install SMARTfit
systems and integrate them into our regular
programming, we believe we can quickly
assist obese youths in adopting positive
physical fitness habits by “building a bridge”
with the types of systems and games that they are already familiar with.
III.
OUTLINE OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BENEFITS THAT CAN HELP REMEDY
CHILDHOOD OBESITY ISSUE
Boys & Girls Clubs have been recognized by national, regional, and local public health leaders as an
important organization in the fight against childhood obesity. By combining our mindful approach
to obesity issues with SMARTfit technology, we believe the YOUR Boys & Girls Club can have a
significant impact on the local obesity epidemic.
In addition to a long list of mental benefits that facilitate cognitive development in youth, SMARTfit
provides a litany of physical benefits that combat childhood obesity through both its technology
and progressive programming.
Physical Benefits Related to Regular Engagement with SMARTfit Systems
Fitness Benefits - Cardiovascular, Strength, Aerobic, Anaerobic, Functional, Core
Strength, Balance, Flexibility, Range of Motion
Sports Benefits - Throwing, Catching, Kicking, Tracking, Conditioning, Accuracy,
Placement, Footwork, Ball Speed and Control, Quickness, Speed, Agility
Instead of simulating play, SMARTfit systems engage players in a real multisensory kinesthetic
yle J.
McInnis, Sc.D.,
FACSM
experience involving real play/sporting
equipment.
SMARTfit
technology features targets with
multiple
colors,
shapes,
letters,
numbers
and
sounds,
and
creates
visual
and auditory
International expert and leading researcher in exercise sciencenew
and cognitive,
fitness from
the University
challenges for participants while also tracking accuracy, speed and motion.
of Massachusetts in Boston
MFI’s SMARTfit technology combines the latest in brain research and exercise science with games
and programming that require complex cognitive function to make decisions and execute skills. So
not only would we be engaging our members in physical activity, but in games that provide a host
of cognitive benefits that can enhance their development as students, as well.
The mix of cognitive training with the widely understood positive effect that physical activity has
on the brain, creates new ways to engage the brain through action-based learning concepts.
Research at facilities using interactive programs in Boston, MA, Kansas City, MO and Naperville, IL
have demonstrated significant improvement in exercise adherence, several physiological
categories, behavior, school attendance levels and academic achievement.
Neural and Cognitive Benefits Related to Regular Engagement with SMARTfit Systems
Proprioception, vestibular control, hand-foot-eye coordination, neuroplasticity
(“Miracle Grow for the brain”), cognitive agility, motor coordination and reaction
skills, neural system repair, attention and focus, memory, problem solving, speed,
accuracy and reaction timing, decision making under pressure and “in-the-now”
training (zone training).
yle J. McInnis, Sc.D., FACSM
The chart below demonstrates results of a recent study conducted at Naperville Central High School
in Naperville, IL. A group of students at Naperville Central High School voluntarily took part in
"Zero Hour" daily exercise over two semesters, and engaged each day with SMARTfit
technology. This study was done over a year to assess improvement in reading levels between
those that attended "Zero Hour," and those that didn’t.
The list of benefits really speaks for itself in terms of the remarkable range of ways in which
SMARTfit can affect our young members. Helping bridge the gap to physical fitness is the initial
key. Once our members are engaged with SMARTfit systems, we can really begin to develop them
physically and mentally through SMARTfit’s advanced programming.
IV.
USING SMARTfit AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL INTEGRATION
SMARTfit has developed games that they
refer to as “Programming Designed to
Change Lives,” since their inclusive
programming model helps further to
establish advanced social integration while
facilitating team building and increasing
group cooperation. It has been amazing to
see instances of kids that normally rest on
opposite sides of the social spectrum
connecting and bonding during SMARTfit
gaming sessions.
On the playground, self-esteem frequently hangs on a child’s ability to throw and catch a ball. Who
might be picked to a team is a primitive measure of social acceptance among children. However, it
is the belief of MFI that children previously marginalized to the sidelines can be integrated back
into playground activity just weeks after SMARTfit practice because the system provides a more
protected, unintimidating environment in which to develop their skills. For this purpose, the
versatility of the system is essential.
SMARTfit programs develop social skills and interpersonal cooperation through social interaction
in a spirit of fun. SMARTfit introduces opportunities for our young members to work together as a
team, and create an environment where participants develop and enhance concepts such as
inclusiveness, cooperation, and mutual support.
While social integration is not the biggest of
issues at the YOUR Boys & Girls Club it is yet
another issue that surrounds the overarching
childhood obesity crisis in our market. By
building a support system for those that may
not have had it in past play settings, SMARTfit
provides opportunities for obese youths to
engage in positive physical fitness habits as
never before.
Therefore, the additional social integration
benefit is yet another reason why we are
requesting funding from your organization to
install Multisensory Fitness, Inc. SMARTfit
technology.
V.
EDEN, NORTH CAROLINA CASE STUDY
Recently, the SMARTfit team installed the SMARTfit™ Trainer 4 system in the Boys and Girls Club of
Eden (NC) thanks to a grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable trust, a trust that focuses on
promoting quality of life and quality of health in its community.
According to Executive Director Amy Nalley, the system immediately attracted the attention and
engagement of not only the boys and girls, but the parents and members of the community as well.
She described this added benefit as an immediate “return on our investment” for Eden.
The SMARTfit™ system has quickly become part of their programming, and according to Amy, “a big
difference is that Kids want to participate.
As discussed, one element that we find very important with SMARTfit™ technology is its inclusivity.
In Eden, NC, we were told of two teenage girls that rarely left the computer room but when they
saw the SMARTfit™ system along with the action and excitement that changed. Amy Nalley told the
SMARTfit team, “They were out there playing the ABC game, joining in, having fun, and working as
part of a team. They are loving it!”
“We installed the Smartfit Trainer and the kids, staff,
board and community love it. It’s our first step to
enhancing triple play. . . This product addresses all
aspects including the mind, body and soul with
academic features as well as increased physical
activity, cognitive enhancement and fun. . . The first
day of the program had kids that never go to the gym
involved and actively participating, including 2
teenage girls who make the A honor roll every time
and don’t go to the gym.”
Amy Nalley, Executive Director, Boys and Girls Club
Eden
The integration of SMARTfit technology in Eden, NC has been a huge success story for the club. The
YOUR Boys & Girls Club wants to follow this positive case study, and create an outstanding success
story of our own, with SMARTfit technology.
VI.
BUDGET – Available Upon Specific Request