CONTACT: Jerome Esp

313-549-9884; newsroom@bcbsm.com
Emily Coyle
616-551-4042; emily.coyle@cancer.org

African-American Churches set for Body & Soul BLUE Challenge

Blue Cross Blue Shield of MI and American Cancer Society Continue Healthy Competition

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – June 30, 2010 – The American Cancer Society and Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Michigan today announced the launch of the second Body & Soul BLUE challenge, a three-
month incentive-based fitness competition that encourages members of African American faith
communities in Grand Rapids to participate in the American Cancer Society’s Body & Soul program.
Body & Soul, a faith-based wellness program developed for African American churches,
reinforces the importance of a healthy diet in decreasing the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.
The program works by combining pastoral leadership, educational activities, and a church environment
to help congregations make healthier nutrition choices and take steps to ensure a healthier future.
The Body & Soul BLUE challenge takes the program one step further and provides cash
incentives to churches that log the most walking miles throughout a three-month period. Rev.
Nathaniel Moody, senior pastor at Brown Hutcherson Ministries, led his congregation to first place
among 10 churches in last year’s inaugural Body & Soul BLUE challenge. Each participant was given
a health appraisal before and after the competition, which was used to measure improvements in the
health of participants over the course of the program, including changes in blood pressure, cholesterol,
weight, knowledge and behavior.
“This program is a Godsend,” said Moody, whose parish logged 48,539 miles in physical
activity and walked away with $4,000 to be used toward its health ministry program. “We needed
some encouragement, direction, and tips on developing a healthy lifestyle, and Body & Soul started us
on the right path.”
According to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2010, it’s estimated that
approximately one-third of the cancer deaths that occur in the U.S. each year are due to poor nutrition
and physical inactivity, including excess weight. Additionally, African Americans are far more likely
to develop and die from cancer than any other racial group and tend to have lower than recommended
rates of physical activity.
“African Americans are at high risk for many serious and often fatal diseases,” said Voncile
Brown-Miller, manager of health disparity programs for the American Cancer Society, Great Lakes
Division, Inc. “Too often church congregants and their leaders see premature deaths from diseases
linked to an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. Body & Soul helps church leadership combine
spirituality with healthy lifestyles to urge congregants to make health a priority within their faith
activities. The Body & Soul BLUE Challenge is a great way to incorporate healthy eating with a
friendly competition to further support health ministries, and we are grateful for Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Michigan’s continued partnership in this important initiative.”
The 2010 fitness challenge will begin July 1 and will end Oct. 2 at the Grand Rapids African
American Health Institute Rhythm Run at Martin Luther King Park in Grand Rapids.
“We have a commitment to addressing health disparities by building partnerships within
minority communities,” said Cle Jackson, BCBSM’s senior community liaison in West Michigan.
“The results of last year’s competition were remarkable, and we’re excited to see similar results this
year. When communities work together to improve their health and well-being together, it improves
their quality of life and helps us in our efforts to improve the health status of Michigan residents.”

-more-
 For the walking component of the challenge, BCBSM will be sharing the Blue Cross Blue
Shield Association’s popular online WalkingWorks® program to help churches track the physical
activity of their congregations. Each participating church will log its mileage and compete against each
other for distance. The competing churches are grouped in categories based on congregation size.
The three churches that are most successful in meeting the health and wellness challenge in their size
category will receive monetary awards of $4,000, $2,000, and $1,500.
The Blues’ involvement with the Rhythm Run/Walk and Body & Soul Blue Challenge is part
of a broader effort to help Michigan residents, particularly children, improve health status and embrace
wellness and prevention. For example, BCBSM provided grant funding to the Michigan State
University College of Human Medicine to develop a $1 million health initiative called “FIT” in 2009.
Four schools in Grand Rapids were selected as the focus for FIT, which is aimed at reducing childhood
obesity.
One of the many local organizations involved with FIT, Grand Valley State University will be
lending a hand at the Grand Rapids Body & Soul Blue Challenge event by facilitating health education
classes and screenings.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit organization, provides and administers health
benefits to nearly 4.5 million members residing in Michigan, in addition to members of Michigan-
headquartered groups who reside outside the state. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care
Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com.

About the American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of
experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three
million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We
save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get
well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment
in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer
and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental
investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into
what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless
more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help,
call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

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