Throughout its nearly 160-year history, the YMCA has continually evolved to meet the changing needs of the communities and individuals it serves.  Activate America is an ambitious public health initiative that is seeking to make healthy living a reality for millions of Americans by directly helping individuals and families live healthier lives, and by helping YMCAs lead both their communities and the nation in reducing barriers and increasing support for healthy living.

YMCA of the USA, the national resource office for the nation’s 2,686 YMCAs, selected the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga to be one of 16 YMCAs in three states to build a statewide network for reducing childhood obesity through its Activate America®: Statewide Pioneering Healthier Communities (PHC) initiative.  Y-USA will draw on its successful community-level PHC model, applying its experiences and existing networks of State Alliances to support policy, environmental and systems changes statewide.

Through Activate America, YMCAs are redefining themselves and engaging communities across the country to provide better opportunities for Americans of all ages who are struggling to achieve and maintain well-being of spirit, mind and body. PHC was developed with expert advice and assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Their input is helping to build an infrastructure for replicating model programs and approaches to develop healthy communities nationwide.