KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kansas City Royals and Sun Life Financial U.S. have capped another great year for the Sun Life Home Run to Health program, a four-week health and fitness program where kids track their activities and learn about nutrition, exercise, and healthy lifestyle habits. Over 120 children at the Eastwood Hills Elementary School recently celebrated the program and showed off their newly learned fitness skills. Royals pitcher Brad Keller was joined by former Royals outfielder Les Norman and Royals athletic trainers Sean Bardenett and Dylan Wilson to visit the kids. Keller talked to the kids about how he stays healthy and fit, and then handed out the grand prize: tickets to an upcoming Royals game.
"The Royals are a great part of the Kansas City culture, so what better way to get kids excited and enthusiastic about health and fitness?" said Heather Yows, event co-host and product marketing director at Sun Life. "As a benefits provider, we want to help people lead healthier lives. We are thrilled to partner with the Royals to spread Sun Life's message of the importance of embracing health and wellness, and bring this to the Kansas City community."
The Home Run to Health program's activities include tracking servings of fruits and vegetables, opting for water instead of soda or juice, limiting screen time, and various physical exercises. Over the four weeks, participants ate 7,500 servings of fruits and vegetables, played outside for 45,000 minutes, and racked up over 36,000 jumping jacks, 54,000 squats, and 100,000 mountain climbers. The program is part of Sun Life's broad focus on helping local communities around the country embrace healthy living in an effort to raise awareness and reduce diagnoses of type 2 diabetes. As part of their partnership, Sun Life and the Royals also engage in the #StrikeoutDiabetes campaign, a season-long effort that raises $21 for the diabetes cause each time a Royals pitcher gets a strikeout.
"The Royals are thrilled to partner with Sun Life on a program that promotes fitness and healthy living to the kids of our community," said Ben Aken, vice president of Community Relations for the Royals. "The students worked hard to learn the exercises and healthy habits and we hope these lessons will stay with them as they grow up."
Sun Life actively participates in community service and events with a focus on health and promoting diabetes awareness and education. Other partners include the Boston Celtics, YMCA of the USA, the American Diabetes Association, and many grant recipients through Sun Life's Team Up Against Diabetes grant program. Sun Life was also a founding supporter of the YMCA of Kansas City's Diabetes Prevention Program. To learn more, visit www.sunlife.com/usdiabetes.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization, providing a diverse range of insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate Clients. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2017, Sun Life Financial had total assets under management of C$975 billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.
In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life, dental, vision, voluntary and stop-loss insurance. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.
About the Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals' baseball club is in its 50th season of existence. Established in 1969, the Royals compete in the American League Central Division. The franchise has won two World Series titles (1985, 2015) and have been champions of the American League four times (1980, 1985, 2014, 2015). The Royals are owned by the Glass Family, with David Glass serving as the Owner/CEO and his oldest son, Dan Glass, as the Team President.
Media contacts:
Devon Portney Fernald
Sun Life Financial
781-416-7151
Devon.Portney.Fernald@sunlife.com
Amanda Turk
Kansas City Royals
816-504-4309
Amanda.Turk@royals.com
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SOURCE Sun Life Financial