Company supports PLAY campaign events, which teach children in need about the importance of smart health decisions
MELVILLE, NY, USA – Henry Schein, Inc. announced that for the fourth straight year, it is partnering with the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society® (PBATS) and the Taylor Hooton Foundation to support the 2016 PLAY (Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth) Campaign. Held in Major League Baseball stadiums throughout the year, the PLAY Campaign educates children and teenagers about the importance of staying active, eating right, and routine dentist and physician visits.
As part of the partnership, Henry Schein’s Athletics and Schools business and the Henry Schein Cares Foundation, Inc. are donating $40,000 to support 24 PLAY events, each of which is attended by as many as 200 children and teenagers. This year’s donation brings the foundation’s and the company’s joint four-year financial contribution to the PLAY Campaign to $160,000.
In addition to the financial donation, Henry Schein and its supplier partners are providing each child with a backpack containing sunscreen, toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss, eye black, a mouthguard, Thera-Band exercise bands, hand sanitiser, and a score card to track toothbrushing, hand washing, and other healthy habits. The product donation is an initiative of Henry Schein Cares, the company’s global social responsibility programme.
Participating children and teens are pre-selected from local community organisations and invited onto the field of a Major League Baseball stadium where they rotate through a series of stations that touch on everything from healthy eating to injury prevention, strength and conditioning, and education about the dangers of illegal performance and appearance-enhancing drugs. Each event is run by the host team’s athletic training staff and includes an appearance by a Major League Baseball player.
“We are thrilled to count Henry Schein and the Henry Schein Cares Foundation among our partners again this year, as their commitment to expanding access to care for children in need perfectly aligns with the PLAY Campaign’s goals,” said PBATS President Mark O’Neal. “The support they provide each year helps us spread the message of good oral health and healthy life choices to thousands of children, and adds to the impact of every PLAY event.”
PBATS created the PLAY programme in 2004 to raise awareness about children’s health issues and the obesity epidemic in the US. PLAY has conducted more than 250 events inside all 30 Major League ballparks, reaching tens of thousands of young people with positive messages about making healthy decisions and living a more active and healthy lifestyle.
“Henry Schein is pleased to continue working with PBATS as part of our company’s deep commitment to ‘helping health happen’ for children living in underserved communities,” said Mr. Jeff Klingler, Vice President, Enterprise Health, Henry Schein Medical. “Being on a Major League ball field is a dream come true for many of these kids, and by encouraging healthy food choices and promoting a more active and healthy lifestyle, we are helping to set these kids on the path to a lifetime of good health.”
