Ozarka College has been awarded The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas grant, which will help fund a Community Obesity Prevention Fitness and Nutrition Program.Ozarka was awarded $49,334 to provide resources for cardio health and nutrition programs to community members and college employees.

Included in the grant are funds to expand the cardio equipment available at Ozarka College's Paul Miller Fitness Center and availability of fitness center resources. Further, the grant will provide resources for nutrition programs and health programs to be offered in Fulton, Izard, Sharp and Stone counties. The community will be included in a Walking Challenge to collectively walk 15,000 miles. The Cardio Wellness and Fitness Challenge will challenge Ozarka College employees, as well members of the community, to adopt healthier, more active lifestyles.

"We are very excited about the activities we have planned, " commented Dr. Deltha Sharp, Ozarka College Associate Vice President of Planning and Institutional Research. "The programs will kick off in January and continue throughout the upcoming year. Having our service area involved as a collective community working toward a goal of better health and wellness with the walking program will be fun for everyone involved. We did this a couple of years ago with great success and many people have stuck with a fitness regimen. Hopefully, this program will bring additional people to find ways to be healthier in 2018. "

The Blue & You Foundation was established by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield as a charitable foundation to promote better health in Arkansas. The Foundation recently awarded a total of $2,302,347 in grants to 40 health improvement programs in Arkansas. "Our grants this year went to programs across the state that address such issues as nutrition and exercise, food insecurity, emergency medical services and medical professional education, " said Patrick O'Sullivan, Blue & You Foundation executive director.

Ozarka College's fitness center is open to the public and offers a variety of memberships. For more information, please contact Stacy Gore, Ozarka College fitness center director, at 870.368.2090 or email: stacy.gore@ozarka.edu.