Keeping young kids healthy:
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Northeastern, the Red Sox, and Children's Hospital fight obesity
Three major Boston institutions — Northeastern University, the Boston Red Sox, and Children’s Hospital Boston — are joining forces with Mayor 
Thomas Menino to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity. The Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures program, a pilot educational and research program, aims to educate preschool caregivers and parents about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity, and provide young children new opportunities to be active.
The initiative was announced April 15 by Northeastern president Joseph Aoun, Boston Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino and Children’s Hospital Boston CEO Dr. James Mandell, who were joined by Mayor Menino at the Roxbury Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) Head Start site. Focused on preschool-aged children enrolled in Head Start programs in the Lower Roxbury, Mission Hill, Fenway, and South End communities surrounding Northeastern, the pilot program will have two main features: workshops on nutrition and physical activity for parents and caregivers, and open gym time for preschoolers and their parents.
Why it's called the Stony Brook Initiative
The Stony Brook Initiative is named after an ancient waterway that once flowed through and nourished the neighborhoods of which Northeastern University is a part, contributing to their growth. Like its namesake, the Stony Brook Initiative seeks to weave new connections and nurture new partnerships in the Stony Brook neighborhoods of Roxbury, Mission Hill, the Fenway, and the South End.