Community Corner

ProActive Kids Foundation Partners With CDH

Local nonprofit, ProActive Kids Foundation, announced its partnership Tuesday with Central DuPage Hospital.

 Tuesday announced a unique relationship with (CDH) to help tackle the community’s childhood obesity challenge. CDH and ProActive Kids (PAK) have aligned to offer a unique, proven and free program in Wheaton.

“CDH is very excited to support ProActive Kids,” said Tammy Pressley, director, community and government affairs at CDH. “We know the issue of overweight and obesity is one of the most pressing public health issues we face…and our young people are not immune. Collaborating with organizations who have proven, effective strategies and programs is a key part of the solution to this epidemic.”

Unlike other programs that focus on fitness and nutrition, ProActive Kids also incorporates psychological coaching. PAK engages the entire family to carry lessons throughout the child’s home environment to improve overall well-being. CDH believes the holistic approach of the PAK program is crucial to the success of the participants. According to Pressley, in order to achieve sustainable change, families must be actively involved.

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Headquartered in Wheaton, the PAK program takes place at the Wheaton Park District’s Rice Lake Community Center. PAK is working to team up with organizations like CDH to execute their mission of reversing the obesity trend, one community at a time. ProActive Kids and Central DuPage Hospital are also active coalition partners for FORWARD, (FightingObesity, Reaching Healthy Weight Among Residents ofDuPage), a DuPage County leadership collaborative whose goal is to improve the health and wellbeing of the children and families in DuPage County by reversing the obesity trend. Both organizations believe that collaboration is the most effective and efficient approach to fighting childhood obesity and encourage other organizations, city leaders and local businesses to join the effort.

Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday for eight weeks, a group of up to 20 ProActive Kids are engaged in different activities around the core areas of the PAK PLAN: PAK Fitness, PAK Nutrition and PAK Lifestyle. Each educational lesson and fitness activity is designed to make significant impact while building a foundation for life-long success in the areas of fitness, personal health and self-esteem. On Fridays, other members of the family join the child and participate in the activities and learn about how they, too, can benefit from and support the lifestyle changes.

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“We believe that working with CDH will help place a stronger focus on the issues of child health and issues related to childhood obesity in our communities,” said ProActive Kids Founder, Anthony Burke. “By aligning our unique, personal child and family outreach program with one of the most recognized and respected health organizations in DuPage County, we can have a positive and sustainable impact on this health crisis.” Burke added, “We encourage other organizations to follow CDH’s lead to support ProActive Kids sites in their local areas to extend the reach and impact of the PAK program.”

ProActive Kids will have the maximum session size of 20 kids for the spring session taking place beginning April 11. Future sessions can be accessed through a referral from the child’s primary care physician. 


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