Who We Are
GENYOUth is a nationally recognized youth wellness organization with reach and impact. GENYOUth and its partners have a shared purpose: creating healthy school communities by empowering students and providing the resources for youth to build healthy, high-achieving futures.
Our Mission
Since GENYOUth’s inception almost a decade ago, we have provided $200 million in grants and equipment to our nation’s schools. Our extensive network of schools, through flagship program Fuel Up to Play 60, and the support of generous donors have resulted in an immediate and substantial impact to support U.S. school communities during this extraordinary time. But it’s not nearly enough!
GENYOUth specializes in a range of national initiatives including the largest in-school wellness program (Fuel Up to Play 60) in partnership with National Dairy Council and the NFL; an innovative youth social entrepreneurship program (AdVenture Capital); youth and thought leader engagement (Leadership Roundtables, Student Ambassador Summit, Town Halls); and widely circulated stakeholder-targeted publications.
Reach and Results
Equip
Engage
Empower
73K
Our flagship program, Fuel Up to Play 60, is the largest in-school wellness program in the U.S., with over 73,000 schools enrolled reaching over 38 million students.
30MM
students rely on school meals for a significant portion of their daily nutrition
100K
Grab and Go Breakfast Carts are increasing access to 100,000 school meals annually
8.5K
FLAG kits distributed to schools to increase physical activity among girls and boys.
Our History
A Decade-Long History/Many Points of Pride!
Committed to child health and wellness in the school environment, GENYOUth was launched in 2010, the result of an unprecedented public-private partnership between the National Dairy Council – funded by America’s dairy farmers – and the National Football League.
These two organizations recognized the importance of bringing leaders in health, education, government and business together in a movement to help America’s youth achieve a healthier future – and to raise funds to help make that happen.
Our success is fueled by uniting partners with shared goals, and by empowering youth to drive change.
Here are some highlights of our accomplishments:
- Raised over $100M to create healthier school communities
- Generated $20M to support over 10,000 schools through our End Student Hunger Fund.
- In partnership with Super Bowl Host Committees in San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, Miami and Tampa Bay – provided over 50 million incremental breakfasts annually
- Executed collaborative efforts through an MOU with US Departments of Agriculture, Education and Health and Human Services, and partnered with USDA, NFL, and Fuel Up to Play 60 to award $35 million to help schools serve healthier meals and strengthen childhood nutrition
- Equipped over 24,000 (1/4) U.S. schools with the NFL FLAG-in-Schools Program making flag football the fastest growing youth sport in America
- Founding member of Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Active Schools program to equip schools with the resources and tools to increase physical education and physical activity opportunities for students
- Helped to improve aerobic capacity in youth by scaling and deepening engagement in The Cooper Institute’s FitnessGram in 32 NFL Club markets
- Partnered with the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition to increase the visibility, reach and use of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program to improve physical activity environment in U.S. schools
Our Work
Give Youth Voice
- GENYOUth Insights provides unique access to what youth are thinking and doing.
Enhance Nutrition and Physical Activity in Schools
- Grab and Go School Meal programs increase access to healthy nutrition.
- Fuel Up to Play 60 and Fuel Up to Play 60 en Español in partnership with National Dairy Council and the NFL increase access to healthier food and opportunities for physical activity before, during and after the school day.
- NFL FLAG-in-Schools is engaging both boys and girls in physical activity through flag football.
Nurture Youth Leadership and Workforce Readiness
- AdVenture Capital (AdCap) catalyzes youth-led solutions and ensures workforce readiness.
- Employee engagement offers partner employees the opportunity to participate in purpose-driven events with opportunities for student mentoring and leadership skill training.
End Student Hunger Fund
One in 4 U.S. children is now living in food insecurity, up from 1 in 7 prior to the pandemic. And the numbers are even more alarming for minority students, with 1 in 3 living in food insecure households. A recent Rockefeller Foundation report identified public schools as anchors of community feeding and recognized the important role they play in ensuring children are nutrition secure. Due to the pandemic and current economic climate, the pressure on school buildings to feed our nation’s youth is escalating as schools continue to serve meals through a variety of models which align with Center for Disease Control’s COVID-19 recommendations. According to our recent survey of 550 school nutrition professionals whose school or district serve high-need rural, urban and suburban communities, while only 4% of schools currently have kids in the building daily for learning, 100% maintain school meal operations.
Schools are working creatively to safely provide school meals and essential nutrition to children via Grab and Go drive-through pick up, and bus stop drop-off. To support schools, GENYOUth established the COVID-19 End Student Hunger Fund to provide grants for schools to purchase supplies for meal distribution and delivery.
While the federal government continues to support the cost of food for school meal programs, there are countless additional unbudgeted expenses necessary to package and distribute meals safely to students. Equipment for cold storage and mobile transport to serve food outside of the cafeteria ranks among the top items needed by school nutrition professionals to maintain continuity in school feeding during the pandemic.
Help GENYOUth feed our nation’s kids.
