Supporting Military Families and Let’s Move!

Cross-posted from the Let's Move! blog.

Today, First Lady Michelle Obama announced new collaborations to support our military families and ensure that everyone can get out and get moving.

Starting June 1, service members and their families will be able to visit the websites of the organizations to sign up for free sportsclub memberships and personal training.

The International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), an organization whose membership consists of sportsclubs throughout the nation, will work with its members to offer free memberships to immediate family members (ages 13 and older, where applicable) of actively deployed reservists and National Guard members.

They may also provide additional benefits such as childcare, children’s programming, group classes, discounts for veterans, and discounts for active duty families. (The website will also offer a free digital subscription to Get Active! Magazine, a publication dedicated to promoting healthy living through exercise.)  

And the American Council on Exercise® (ACE®), an organization that works to certify and support fitness professionals, is committing to a goal of providing at least 1 million hours of personal training and fitness instruction to family members of actively deployed reservists and National Guard members. 

Such collaborations are important steps forward in making sure that military families have the support they need to stay active and healthy. The goal of Let’s Move! is to solve the problem of the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation, and this announcement will help move one step closer to that goal through outreach to military communities across the country.

Robin Schepper is Executive Director of Let's Move!.
Shellie Pfohl is Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition.