Grants from New Balance Foundation, DCU for Kids and the Ronald McDonald Charitable Foundation make it possible for us to deliver after-school physical activities to more than 30 kids, matching them to Merrimack College students who congratulate, reinforce and help them enjoy the physical fitness experience, so that it might become a part of their daily lives.
Online Exercises
Program Highlights
- Year to year, Healthy Balance has a profound impact on student participants at Andover and Lawrence high schools, physically, socially, and behaviorally, said Zi Yan, Ph.D., professor of Public Health and Health Promotion at Merrimack College.
- College student volunteers and instructors get just as much out of this engaging and fun program as the students at Lawrence and Andover high schools do.
- As evidenced in year-to-year, pre- and post-testing, student participants improve on upper body strength, measured by hand-grip test; cardiovascular function, measured by a six-minute walking test; and flexibility, measured by sit-and-reach test.