For immediate release: June 9, 2003
Contact: Leigh Tofferi - (802) 371-3205

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF VERMONT AND THE VERMONT HEALTH PLAN SUPPORTS RUN GIRL RUN PROGRAM

Berlin, VT – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont and its HMO affiliate The Vermont Health Plan, have pledged support in 2003 for the Run Girl Run Program, an initiative undertaken by the Vermont Department of Health.

"Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont's HMO affiliate, The Vermont Health Plan, has begun to sponsor five of 10 Run Girl Run sites across the state," said Megan Peek, BCBSVT Community Relations and Health Education Coordinator. "The program gives middle-school-aged girls the opportunity to run non-competitively at practice sessions and then try out their new skills at events like the Race for the Cure, which is held each year in Manchester to support breast cancer research."

Nearly one-fourth of Vermont students in grades 8 through 12 are overweight or are becoming overweight. The Run Girl Run Program's goal is to reverse this startling trend.

"Through the program, girls not only become more physically active, but learn about health matters important to them. At practice sessions, volunteer coaches talk to team members about diet, exercise, body image, peer pressure and other topics important to young teenagers," Peek said.

Peek said that the program has touched a host of people.

"Last year, the program met with great success," Peek said. "The girls had a lot of fun and they met the health objectives of the program as well. We especially appreciate listening to individual success stories. One high-school-age girl who became quite an accomplished athlete recently remarked after a track meet that, 'Without Run Girl Run, I never could have done this.'"

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is the state's oldest and largest private health insurer, providing coverage for about 180,000 Vermonters. It employs over 350 Vermonters at its headquarters in Berlin and its full-service field office in Williston, and has offered group and individual health plans to Vermonters for more than 60 years. More information about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is available on the Internet at www.bcbsvt.com Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is an independent corporation operating under a license with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.

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