Orlando, Fla. (Nov. 3, 2010) – Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam recently celebrated her 40th birthday. To honor one of her greatest passions, the ANNIKA Foundation hosted an online giving campaign asking participants for a $40 donation to continue the mission of her foundation – teaching children the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. With the gifts made in Annika’s honor and a match from the ANNIKA Foundation, a $4,000 grant will be awarded to ROCK, Reduce Obesity in Central Florida Kids, to fund the development of an interactive, informative website to foster collaboration and dialog among businesses, healthcare organizations and residents of Orange, Brevard, Osceola and Seminole counties.
“I am proud to sponsor programs that are fighting childhood obesity in the Central Florida community,” said Annika. “The ROCK website will be a place to find resources for getting healthy and staying healthy.”
The website will include data about the trends and implications of childhood obesity in the local community, tools to understand Body Mass Index, recipes that outline healthy choices and a calendar of events that promote healthy living.
“ROCK – the consortium to Reduce Obesity in Central Florida Kids – is thrilled to move forward with the support of the Annika Foundation,” said Program Director, Shawna Kelsch. “The need to address childhood obesity is especially great in Central Florida where many communities have higher-than-average rates of children diagnosed either as overweight or obese. ”
ROCK believes this avoidable epidemic can be prevented through collaborative community action that fosters necessary social change. The mission of ROCK is to ensure children living in East Central Florida have healthy lifestyles that eliminate their risk for childhood obesity. More information about the initiative can be found at www.hcecf.org.
ANNIKA Foundation
The ANNIKA Foundation teaches children the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition, and offers aspiring junior golfers opportunities to pursue their dreams. Established in 2007, the foundation’s key focus is to provide resources that increase participation and access where it is not currently available or affordable, and promote awareness for the importance of leading a healthy, active lifestyle. More information about the ANNIKA Foundation can be found at www.annikafoundation.org.
About Annika
Annika is the greatest female golfer of our generation and often regarded as the best of all-time. During her 15-year Hall of Fame career, she rewrote the LPGA and Ladies European Tour record books, won countless awards and changed the way women’s golf was played, viewed, and covered. She amassed 89 worldwide professional victories, including 72 LPGA wins, ten of which are Major Championships. Annika stepped away from professional golf after the 2008 season to focus on her family and the ANNIKA brand of businesses, including the ANNIKA Academy, ANNIKA Financial Group, ANNIKA Course Design, the ANNIKA Collection of apparel with Cutter & Buck, signature high-end wines with Wente Vineyards and an online retail shop, shopannika.com. In 2008, Annika joined Arnold Palmer as only the second Ambassador of the United States Golf Association, and in 2009, along with Jack Nicklaus, she was named a Global Ambassador by the International Golf Federation and aided in the successful bid for golf in the 2016 Olympic Games. More information can be found atwww.annikasorenstam.com.
Contact:
Elizabeth McCollum, Brener Zwikel and Associates elizabethm@bzapr.com, 813-421-0550
