Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell receives $20,000 from Fallon Community Health Plan to support anti-drug program for youth in Lowell
Lowell, Mass., November 30, 2005 - The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell will receive $20,000 from Fallon Community Health Plan (FCHP) to implement SMART Moves, a prevention program that helps young people avoid four of the most immediate threats to their health and well-being: alcohol, tobacco, drugs and teen pregnancy.
SMART Moves (Skills Mastery And Resistance Training) incorporates education, experiential learning and enrichment activities, and focuses on self-awareness, decision-making, stress-reduction techniques and resistance skills. The goal is to help young people resist peer pressure and develop a deeper understanding about the consequences associated with risky behaviors.
Funding received from Fallon Community Health Plan will be used to offer the eight-week program to approximately 150 youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and will provide a two-day refresher course for members who have already participated in the program.
"More and more of our children are faced with peer pressures to engage in risky behavior that can often lead to tragic, long-term consequences. Our program empowers young people with the skills to resist alcohol, tobacco and drugs," said Michelle Hatem Meehan. "We are truly grateful to Fallon Community Health Plan for helping us to expand the SMART Moves program to our community and for its ongoing support of our goal to improve the lives of children in our region."
Originally established in 1900, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell now serves over 3,000 young people between the ages 7 and 18 from the city of Lowell, as well as Chelmsford, Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Tyngsborough, Dunstable and Westford.
"The Boys & Girls Club is a wonderful place for so many children in our community, and our hope is that we can inspire and enable all youth, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as responsible and caring adults," added Hatem Meehan.
Each year, Fallon Community Health Plan seeks grant applications from non-profit organizations dedicated to improving the lives of our youth. In August, eight local non-profit organizations received funding from FCHP to support programs that provide preventive health and social services to children in the first three years of life or promote opportunities for at-risk youth between the ages of 12 and 19.
"The Boys & Girls Club shares in our mission of making our communities healthy by creating programs that build self-confidence and self-esteem in our young people," said Eric H. Schultz, President and CEO, Fallon Community Health Plan. "We truly cherish our partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell."
"Our community has benefited in so many ways thanks to the Boys & Girls Club," said Armand Mercier, Mayor of Lowell. "The Boys & Girls Club has a long history of promoting and enhancing the development of young men and women by instilling a sense of competence, belonging and usefulness. I'd like to personally thank Fallon Community Health Plan for its generosity and support of this organization."
For more information on the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, visit www.lgbc.org or call 978-458-4526.
Christina Sciammacco
1-508-368-9536
christina.sciammacco@fchp.org
About FCHP
Founded in 1977, Fallon Community Health Plan (FCHP) provides health care services designed to meet the unique and changing needs of all we serve. Our robust product portfolio includes a variety of health plan options (HMO, POS and Medicare Advantage plans, as well as a national PPO) featuring flexible and innovative benefit designs. Our carefully developed networks provide cost-effective, coordinated care and give our members access to physicians and hospitals throughout Massachusetts. We also offer a broad spectrum of health and wellness services and programs to ensure our members, at every stage of life, receive the highest quality of care. As a provider of care, FCHP sponsors a PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) program, offering seniors and their caregivers an alternative to nursing home care. Because of our continued commitment to deliver high-quality health care and exceptional customer service, FCHP is consistently rated as one of the nation’s top health plans. Both our commercial HMO and Medicare Advantage plans have been awarded "Excellent" accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.