Partnership Promotes Healthy Lifestyles

BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A partnership between Northeast Mississippi Community College and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation is helping create healthier lifestyles for the college and surrounding community.

NEMCC’s “Community Health and Nutrition Center” was dedicated this morning.  The center was developed with grant funding from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation.

That center offers cooking classes and fitness classes.   The public will be able to take part in the classes, along with NEMCC students, staff and faculty.

This is the second phase of grants from the foundation to support NEMCC’s wellness initiatives.

“Our main objective is to create an environment in the community where they would understand what healthy living is all about, how to eat healthy, how important it is to exercise and how it will increase their longevity in life,” said NEMCC President Dr. Ricky Ford.

“Our goal is to teach Mississippians healthy lessons on how to lead healthy lifestyles through small steps that can be taken through healthy eating and exercise,” said Sheila Grogan, of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation.

The first phase of the foundation’s grant funded an overhaul of the Burgess Activity Center, providing state of the art equipment for the facility. The investment from the foundation comes to more than $600,000.