Axis Capital and The Home Depot Team Up with ATL Charity to Donate School Garden

ATLANTA - Oct. 23, 2024 - PRLog -- Over the past 14 years, Live Healthy & Thrive Youth Foundation (LHTYF) has invested in thousands of children in the Atlanta area by teaching them how to plant a vegetable garden. The concept is simple: to teach children where their food comes from as well as how to develop the skills to plant and grow it for themselves.

The Live Healthy & Thrive Youth Foundation will partner with Axis Capital and The Home Depot to present the 14th Annual Gardens Are For Kids™ project at Briar Vista Elementary School in Atlanta, GA. The project is one of LHTYF's core educational programs designed to teach children basic agricultural lessons and food origins as well as inspire them to choose healthy foods.

The Gardens Are For Kids™ program highlights the importance of children learning about agriculture at a young age; and supports public schools with an interactive gardening experience as well as S.T.E.M. compliance. The goal of the program is to teach children the importance of fresh foods for a healthy diet and lifestyle so they can ward off obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

According to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, over 1.5 billion adults and nearly 400 million children could be overweight or living with obesity by 2035 with rates rising fastest among children. The World Obesity Federation's World Obesity Atlas 2023 expects 51% of the global population to be overweight, and 25% to be obese by 2035. Childhood obesity will more than double from 2020 levels - by 100% in boys to 208 million, and 125% in girls to 175 million.

"The responsibility of teaching children healthy food habits, rests on our shoulders as the older generation. We must empower young people, especially those living in food deserts, with the life skills to practice proper healthcare and avoid preventable illnesses," said Dr. Lori A. Manns, President of Live Healthy & Thrive Youth Foundation, Inc. "Children who attend inner city schools often times do not have any exposure to agriculture. Early exposure to gardening and participating from seed to harvest gives them a sense of accomplishment and a strong agricultural foundation," said Dr. Manns.

LHTYF's garden project is provided free to Atlanta area schools yearly and made possible by the support of sponsors and community donors. For more information about LHTYF, visit  https://www.livehealthyandthriveyouth.org or (800) 551-3775.

About Briar Vista Elementary School

Briar Vista Elementary is in the Dekalb County School District in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The mission of Briar Vista is with the support of our families and the community, Briar Vista will prepare an environment that uses the Montessori and Traditional approach to maximize students' social and academic potential while fostering self-reliance and life-long learning in a global society.

About Live Healthy & Thrive Youth Foundation, Inc.

LHTYF was established in 2010 to teach kids healthy lifestyle habits and encourage the active involvement of parents in the metro Atlanta area regarding the health and wellness of their children. The mission of Live Healthy & Thrive Youth Foundation is to educate, activate, motivate, and empower youth in the areas of academic achievement, health, nutrition, fitness, and total wellness. LHTYF exists to educate children on healthy lifestyle habits, so they are more likely to avoid obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. http://www.livehealthyandthriveyouth.org

Contact
LaTanya O'Kelly
***@livehealthyandthriveyouth.org