WELLESLEY, Mass. and
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 27,
2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Before the Royals took the field against
the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, Sun Life U.S. and Royals Charities
celebrated the success of their two diabetes awareness and
prevention programs – Strikeout Diabetes and Home Run to
Health.
Sun Life and Royals Charities presented the YMCA with a
giant-sized check for $21,000 to
support its Diabetes Prevention Program. Sun Life and Royals
Charities' Strikeout Diabetes campaign is a season-long effort that
raises $21 every time a Royals
pitcher gets a strikeout – the amount representing that, in the
U.S., someone is diagnosed with diabetes every 21 seconds. The
YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program is based on a Centers for
Disease Control curriculum that helps at-risk adults learn
nutrition and healthy lifestyle habits with the goal of preventing
type 2 diabetes.
"Sun Life helped us launch our Diabetes Prevention Program in
2014 and they have been a great partner in our efforts to continue
supporting people who need help and intervention in preventing type
2 diabetes," said Julie Solomon,
Senior Vice President of Community Integrated Health for the YMCA
of Greater Kansas City. "Since we
started the program, we have worked with over 500 people in
Greater Kansas City to help them
avoid a diabetes diagnosis and live healthier lives. We are so
grateful for the support of Sun Life and the Royals in continuing
this important program."
Prior to the game, Royals players McBroom and Phillips joined
125 students from local school Eastwood Hills Elementary for a
private tour of Kauffman Stadium and some fun in the Little K to
mark the end of Home Run to Health, a four-week fitness program
that encourages children to embrace health and fitness as they
track their activities. This year the children racked up 54,000
sit-ups, 9,000 servings of fruits and vegetables and 1,800 times
they chose water over soda or juice.
"We have been fortunate to have a partner like Sun Life who
shows continued commitment to the Kansas City
community," said Amanda
Grosdidier, Director of Royals Charities. "We love to see
all these kids embracing healthy activities at the stadium and
supporting their team. And we're thrilled that our pitchers
delivered a great season that allows us to support the YMCA of
Greater Kansas City."
Starting pitchers Jakob Junis and
Brad Keller tallied a combined 286
strikeouts this season. Both pitchers established career-highs this
year, with Keller getting ten strikeouts in six innings during the
Royals' April 12 victory over
Cleveland, and Junis achieving ten
strikeouts in the July 15 victory
over the Chicago White Sox.
"It has been wonderful working with the Royals in these efforts
to support the Kansas City community,"
said Dan Fishbein, M.D., president
of Sun Life U.S. "Home Run to Health shows children that it's never
too early to embrace health and fitness, and we hope this will help
them embrace a healthy lifestyle as adults. We are proud to support
local organizations that are working to improve health outcomes in
their communities. We look forward to working with the Royals next
year and seeing what the pitching rotation can achieve in 2020 for
Strikeout Diabetes."
Sun Life has given over $19
million to the diabetes cause globally. Sun Life U.S. is a
partner of the American Diabetes Association and also offers an
annual grant program called Team Up Against Diabetes, which grants
funding to community organizations around the country that support
diabetes education, management, awareness, and health and wellness.
To learn more about Sun Life's diabetes efforts, including
community activities, fundraising, and advocacy, please visit
www.sunlife.com/usdiabetes.
About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international
financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and
asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun
Life 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 June 30,
2019, Sun Life had total assets under management of
C$1,025 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
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 insurance products and
services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life,
dental, vision, voluntary and medical stop-loss. Sun Life and its
affiliates in asset management businesses in the U.S. employ
approximately 5,500 people. Group insurance policies are issued by
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley
Hills, Mass.), except in New
York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health
Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing,
Mich.). For more information, please
visit www.sunlife.com/us.
About Royals Charities
Created in 2001, Royals
Charities, the charitable foundation of the Kansas City Royals,
strives to support children, education, youth baseball/softball,
and military families in and around the Kansas City area through financial grants.
Under the leadership of the Glass family, Royals Charities has
donated more than $14.8 million
dollars in grants since its inception and in 2017 donated
$2.3 million to 143 Kansas City area organizations. For more
information, visit www.royals.com/royalscharities.
About YMCA of Greater Kansas
City
With a focus on youth development, healthy
living and social responsibility, the YMCA of Greater Kansas City is a not-for-profit,
charitable organization committed to strengthening communities. The
Y engages men, women and children – regardless of age, income or
background – to nurture the potential of children and teens,
improve the nation's health and well-being, and provide
opportunities to give back and support neighbors. Serving the
Kansas City area since 1860, the Y
has the long-standing relationships and physical presence not just
to promise, but to deliver, lasting personal and social change.
Visit KansasCityYMCA.org for more information.
Media Contacts:
Devon
Fernald
Sun Life U.S.
781-800-3609
Devon.portney.fernald@sunlife.com
Amanda Turk
Kansas City Royals
816-504-4309
Amanda.turk@royals.com
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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.