$300,000 Awarded by Orlando Magic Youth Foundation

The Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF) gave 16 Central Florida non-profit organizations, including AdventHealth, with a combined total of $1.2 million in grants. Our Senior Grants Officer, Linda Moffa, along with the program’s medical director, Angela Fals, MD, were honored to accept the $300,000 grant which will be paid at $100k annually over three years. This is the largest grant ever awarded to AdventHealth by OMYF. Two other local organizations also received $300k grants.

AdventHealth Hospital for Children will partner with Hebni Nutrition Consultants and use the grant to help improve The Healthy Weight and Wellness Program, which benefits at-risk children in the Orlando community.

The Healthy Weight and Wellness Program will provide tools, free resources and access to medical professionals for low income families with overweight children in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. In these counties, there is a direct link between obesity and poverty in adolescent children. This initiative will truly make an impact on the health of Central Florida’s youth and we are grateful to OMYF for providing the means to improve our programs, so we can help more children.

Because of this grant, 330 more low-income families will be able to participate in workshops such as:

• The Edible Education Experience at Emeril Lagasse Foundation Kitchen House and Culinary Garden where participants can garden and learn how to put together healthy, balanced meals.
• Monthly family healthy cooking workshops offered by the Edible Education Experience at the Kitchen House and Hebni Nutrition at its Resource Center to provide hands-on cooking experiences while strengthening family communication with a focus on the family dinner table.
• Health coaching for kids which encompasses food intake journals, weekly messages and 1:1 phone calls with health educators that are motivational as well as informative.
• Virtual Pantry Makeovers to help participants make real, practical change in their everyday diets. The individual will send photos of their pantry to a registered dietitian who will make suggestions for healthier alternatives.

This program will help teach kids and families how they can live healthier, more active lives while eliminating the financial barriers that come with health care costs. Our hope is for participants to adopt healthy lifestyle changes as children that they can take with them into adulthood.

A huge thank you to The Orlando Magic Youth Foundation for this tremendous gift of generosity. We are excited and know that this will make a huge impact on the lives of children in Central Florida.