Athletes, Educators and Youth Come Together For a Day of Conversation and Activity at Martin Luther King Recreation Center in South Bend

(Monday, April 14, 2014) A dynamic personality on and off the court, Skylar Diggins has elevated women’s basketball to new levels. After completing a remarkable career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Skylar is now making her mark professionally in the WNBA, and is set to make her mark in philanthropy though her partnership with the GENYOUth Foundation.

On Wednesday, April 23rd, at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in South Bend, Indiana Skylar Diggins and GENYOUth hosted “Fuel Up, Play and Learn With Skylar Diggins,” the afternoon event featured meaningful dialogue and fun activities among South Bend leaders, athletes, educators and youth, with a goal to identify solutions to improve child nutrition and fun physical activity in South Bend schools and the community.

Martin Luther King Recreation Center was a personal and perfect location for the event. The center, run by Skylar’s father, Maurice Scott is the setting of her younger days growing up in South Bend, an official safe haven for the community and a promoter of health and wellness. A centerpiece of the community, the location and event drew participation from South Bend Deputy Mayor, Mark Neal, including Fuel Up to Play 60 students from LaSalle Intermediate Academy, and Notre Dame student athletes, who coached the local students during the physical activity portion of the event.

Skylar’s passion for health and wellness and working with youth led to her involvement with the GENYOUth Foundation. GENYOUth was established through a public-private partnership with National Dairy Council and the National Football League to inspire and empower youth to improve nutrition and increase physical activity in schools and their communities. Fuel Up to Play 60, GENYOUth’s flagship program, is in over 73,000 schools helping more than 14 million students eat better and move more.

GENYOUth is led by a Board of Directors representative of organizations across multiple sectors. These leaders from the nation’s top professional sport associations, CEOs of major Fortune 500 companies, and premiere health and wellness organization leaders, including health professionals, school, academia, government, and NGOs, came together with the goal to build engagement and inspire stakeholders (parents, athletes, employees, etc.) to improve nutrition, physical activity and academic achievement in schools and communities nationwide.

“Being part of the GENYOUth Foundation Board has given me a platform to continue my personal mission of making sure today’s youth understand the importance of being healthy, and helping to provide easy access to environments that encourage it, “ said Skylar Diggins. “As a Board Member, it gives me and many others the opportunity to lead the effort of gaining commitments of assets to launch and fund solutions to positively effect change for children’s health.”

“By collaborating with our Board members, like Skylar, we are able to bring together more resources to deliver on our main goal of generating actionable steps to get kids eating better and moving more at school and in their communities,” said Alexis Glick, CEO of GENYOUth Foundation. “Schools cannot succeed alone. The broader community, including business leaders, health professionals, community organizers, parents, and students themselves must work together to make health and wellness a priority. Skylar’s reach is far and wide, and it is a commitment like hers that will make us successful.”