National Partnership Between Sodexo and HOPSports, Inc. Activates Learning and Well-Being

Gaithersburg, Md. September 27, 2013 /3BL Media/ - A new partnership between Quality of Life services leader Sodexo, Inc. and HOPSports, Inc., a global health and wellness network, is introducing the unique MyFit by Sodexo Powered by HOPSports (MyFit) program to school districts to help students become more physically active and engaged throughout the school day.

MyFit is powered by HOPSports technology and equips schools with the means to provide students greater access to evidence-based and standards-based physical activity. MyFit also helps districts achieve the Coordinated School Health model, which is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a strategy for improving students' health and learning throughout our nation’s schools.

MyFit is a technology-based educational solution which uses existing classroom space and technology to make physical activity in schools both interactive and fun. With this program, teachers at participating Sodexo-served districts will take time throughout the school day to promote physical activity by getting students up and moving to 3-5 minute web-based videos. These HOPSports Brain Breaks® ready the body and brain for learning with short activities seamlessly interwoven with classroom lesson plans. Students continue to learn while being physically active.

Sodexo and HOPSports piloted MyFit at five regional public and charter school districts at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. The program is now currently available to partner districts nationally.

“School days can be hard with students becoming anxious, but in the classrooms doing MyFit physical activity breaks, there has been less attention on student behavior and more focus on engaged learners,” said Renee Travers, former principal at Pena Blanca Elementary School in Rio Rico, AZ.  “I definitely saw a decrease in discipline concerns in my office, and an overall school culture of happier teachers and students since incorporating physical activity as a routine part of each school day. Students are asking to use MyFit at home to get their families more active.”

The program follows the Coordinated School Health concept recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a strategy for improving health and student well-being in support of academic success. Coordinated School Health is a systematic approach that unites administrators, teachers, staff, students, parents, education partners and the community to promote and address eight key components of student health and educational development.

MyFit delivers key community wellness initiative messaging directly to kids through its digital platform. MyFit helps to strengthen community partnerships and magnifies the impact of a coordinated, community approach to school health.

Sodexo and HOPSports, Inc., both partners in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation, created MyFit to accelerate sustainable behavior change in childhood and community wellness by making physical activity an integral part of the school day.

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Visit HOPSports on Facebook and follow on Twitter @HOPSports

About Sodexo

Sodexo is the global leader in services that improve Quality of Life, an essential factor in individual and organizational performance. Operating in 80 countries, Sodexo serves 75 million consumers each day through its unique combination of On-site Services, Benefits and Rewards Services and Personal and Home Services. Through its more than 100 services, Sodexo provides clients an integrated offering developed over more than 45 years of experience: from reception, safety, maintenance and cleaning, to foodservices and facilities and equipment management; from Meal Pass, Gift Pass and Mobility Pass benefits for employees to in-home assistance and concierge services. Sodexo’s success and performance are founded on its independence, its sustainable business model and its ability to continuously develop and engage its 420,000 employees throughout the world.

Sodexo in North America

Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Life services company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On-site Services in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Benefits and Rewards Services and Personal and Home Services. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $20 million in grants to end childhood hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.