Our nation’s youth need guidance to help build fit bodies and strong minds. Working together, Americans can foster a generation that is less prone to disease, has higher academic achievers, and is more educated about food and its effects on health. These factors can have lasting effects on a child’s overall development and future.

In this spirit, the Corporation for National and Community Service has again implemented the summer United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. initiative. By encouraging Americans to serve, the Corporation is addressing summer reading loss and childhood obesity by engaging youth in summer reading and physical activity, as well as providing information about healthy, affordable food.

Get Involved

• Organize a book drive.
• Register your organization with First Book to obtain books for children in need.
• Read books with kids.
• Encourage a child to sign up for the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) challenge.
• Take a child outside to play (and win a prize!).
• Build or rehabilitate a playground.
• Help kids find summer feeding sites.
• Create a community garden.
• Collect excess fresh, healthy foods to provide to kids in need.

Spread the Word!

Activate your networks and spread the word that:

• kids need 60 minutes of play a day to be healthy.
• hunger doesn’t take a break for the summer: 19 million children receive free or reduced price meals during the school year, but only 2.3 million receive summer meals.
• reading five books during the summer prevents learning loss.

We want to hear about your own Let’s Read. Let’s Move. activities! Share how you or your organization is joining in the efforts to combat childhood obesity and summer learning loss by posting your service story on our Facebook page or letting us know on Twitter using the #LRLM hashtag.

For more information, contact us at ServiceInitiative@cns.gov.

Posted on 9/28/2012

Posted on 9/20/2012

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