From a press release:
On July 16, Verner Center for Early Learning will be distinguished as a Shape NC Demonstration Site, one of only six in North Carolina and the only one in Western North Carolina.
Shape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children is an early childhood obesity prevention program that has dramatically improved child care environments across the state. This recognition means that Verner Center for Early Learning has improved nutrition, physical activity, and outdoor learning environments for children in a way that meets standards for healthy best practices for early childhood and can model those best practices to others.
Shape NC is a six-year, $6 million initiative of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation and The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. (NCPC), created to increase the number of children starting kindergarten at a healthy weight and ready to learn.
Core to Verner’s mission is a focus on ensuring that young children have both good nutrition with healthy food choices and much opportunity for physical activity in a natural environment, both of which are also core objectives of the Shape NC program. “When we started the Shape NC program in 2012, we didn’t have very far to go to meet their basic criteria. However, with the help of Shape NC and other partners we have significantly improved our outdoor learning environments, embedded additional best practices into our work and are better equipped to be a model to others. Being recognized as an official Demonstration Site is a big deal for us and something we are very proud to receive,” states Shawn Wolff, Program Specialist at Verner. “Shape NC has accomplished amazing results in its first four years. We are so proud of all the Shape NC demonstration centers, including Verner, as they embody our vision of healthy places across the state, and their impact on children’s health is central to our work to improve the health of North Carolinians,” said Kathy Higgins, President of the BCBSNC Foundation. “We look forward to supporting their leadership to give all young children in our state a healthy start.”
To learn more about Shape NC, visit www.smartstart.org/shape-nc-home/. To learn more about Verner Center for Early Learning visit the website at www.vernerearlylearning.org.
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