PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (November 8, 2021) – Girls Incorporated of Pinellas has received an $86,000 grant from The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida to implement the OrganWise Guys curriculum for the 2021-22 academic school year.

The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida identifies, funds, supports and tests innovative programs to improve the life outcomes of children, preserve and strengthen families, and promote healthy behavior and functioning in society, recognizing that the wisest money spent is on prevention. Using proven evidence-based strategies and partnering with community-based organizations, programs focus on promoting healthy lifestyles, nutrition and youth life skills, building strong families, and supporting drug-free and violence-free communities. Ounce of Prevention Fund innovative initiatives are sponsored by a partnership with the State of Florida, Department of Health. To learn more about The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida’s initiatives, visit
https://www.ounce.org/innovative_initiatives.html.

The OrganWise Guys program is designed to help Pinellas County girls in grades K-5 learn about nutrition and health in creative ways, allowing them to retain important information to take care of their bodies and reduce obesity and related diseases. This program will help address the health challenges girls in moderate and low socio-economic families face growing up, such as poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and the poor health outcomes associated therewith. Girls Inc. takes an innovative and comprehensive approach to ensuring the social, emotional, mental, cognitive, behavioral and physical health of all the girls we serve. The OrganWise Guys program will be a tool to focus on the physical and nutritional health of the participants. The overall goal of the program is to create awareness of the impacts of healthy choices on students participating in the program to improve their knowledge, skills and ability to successfully develop healthy habits related to physical activity, nutrition, general health and safety. “We are pleased to partner with The Ounce of Prevention Fund to support the health and nutrition needs of the girls we serve,” shared Darla Otey, Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Pinellas. “We understand that establishing healthy habits at a young age is crucial to long-term healthy outcomes.”