Who We Are

In response to the rising obesity rates among youth, the BET Foundation, in partnership with the Aetna Foundation, is implementing a national youth health empowerment initiative to:

• Provide accurate and relevant information to help African-American girls cope with the physical and emotional health issues they are facing.

• Empower youth with the training needed to become advocate for policy changes in their environment which will in turn lead to healthy schools, families and communities.

• Establish a healthy lifestyles support network for African-American girls.






Initiative Overview

The H.E.A.L. Academy, a multi-level, after-school education program, teaches African-American girls to analyze, evaluate and make healthy lifestyle choices and empowers them with the knowledge, skill and opportunity to become active health advocates for policy changes in their schools, families and neighborhoods.


The program aims to:

• Influence healthy lifestyle changes, encourage regular physical activity and promote optimum health among girls aged 10-18 with an initial
    focus on girls 10-12.
• Cultivate girls into peer-group champions for nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention lifestyles.
• Facilitate the formation of strategic alliances in cities across the country.
• Provide “tool kits” and in-service day training for teachers in communities wishing to establish a program in their area.
• Leverage the critical role parents, teachers, principals, public school district administrators, community-based and faith-based organizations
    and public health practitioners play in halting the epidemic of childhood obesity
• Monitor and track obesity and other health disparities (i.e. hypertension) rates in cities with H.E.A.L. Academies through a community-based
   participatory research design and evaluation model.
• H.E.A.L. Academy Components

After-school program

Curriculum will follow the academic calendar of the local community.
Progressive, core curriculum with annual cohorts.
Facilitators (volunteers, teachers and consultants) operating H.E.A.L. Academy will receive high-quality, research-based strategies and methodologies to help educators incorporate nutrition education into their session practices.
Girls will learn how to make decisions about their personal and physical environment.
Girls will be empowered to take action to improve their own physical health and become nutrition advocates in their community.  
Girls will learn to create public awareness campaigns around healthy lifestyles.
Girls will gain the skills needed and work collaboratively to develop a community-wide campaign that promotes the adoption of policies and initiatives to advance public health objectives and reduce childhood obesity by creating healthy environments in their schools and communities.
Girls will gain the skills needed to lead youth campaigns aimed at creating healthy environments in their schools and communities.
Girls will produce PSA’s with new messaging driven by children to adults.  

Community Service Project

Girls will engage in a community service project that aids in the reduction of youth obesity rates in their local community.  
Girls will participate in the design and implementation of a health audit in their school and community; and presentation of the findings to the school board in their local community.

Web site

Girls will have access to a “members only” virtual fitness community for girls through an innovative, interactive and educational web site.  
Partnerships will be developed with local television stations to air local obesity prevention PSA are developed by girls during
   H.E.A.L. Academy.
Quarterly newsletters will be available for viewing by members.
Take Action section on website will contain ways youth can become advocates for public changes.