Gaining traction: How a small foundation with the right partners tackled the big problem of childhood obesity

Launched in 2007, Growing Up Healthy is the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation's leadership and funding initiative whose goal is to reduce childhood obesity among children ages 6-12 where Harvard Pilgrim Health Care operates- Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. The strategy behind the Foundation's work is to share knowledge with stakeholders, expand promising efforts from the best, evidence-based practices, and inform policy champions. As a small foundation, we knew collaboration would be critical to make a measurable impact, so we worked to identify potential funding partners to support childhood obesity prevention work throughout our region. We made major investments in one program in each of the states we serve, partnering with other Foundations and organizations on projects that had a wide reach within that state. The purpose of this presentation is to hear about these programs and what the Foundation learned from this five year effort.