Our Strategy and Offer

In support of our mission, we have developed a 3-part strategy to help people.

1.) The Center primarily supports non profit organizations that already do a great job supporting people and support our mission. These include Associations, Foundations, Hospitals, Clinics, Camps, Councils, Civic organizations, Private Community Centers as well as Federal, State and Local Public Health Organizations, domestically and internationally. In addition to their current education and care programs, we offer these organizations the following at no charge (see note 1 below):

A Simple Message – Balance & Stretch®

This trademark is offered as a motivational and educational theme in support of our mission and the mission of many other great organizations.

A Powerful Symbol

This

This trademark offers a symbol for health and life balance with its 2 (customizable) colors as well as both individual stretch with the “stretch marks” and a circle around the star to represent our focus on those “around us” who need our help. It is meant to offer a sense of pride and support to those who try to make good choices every day. The symbol also reinforces the high self esteem that people should feel as they work daily toward the goal of being a real “Star”. We offer further flexibility in the use of the trademark to enable organizations to uniquely connect to your members. The Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Inc. offers just such an example.

 

A Helpful Framework

This copyrighted design has two elements that will aid in education and retention. The blue “health star” provides an organizational structure for arranging the already rich content provided by many great organizations. The green “life star” provides a similar structure for arranging content in five areas for success in life. The intent is to provide non profit organizations with a tool to offer members to use to assist in health and life balance with the belief that they can be mutually reinforcing.

Additional Web Presence – www.balanceandstretch.org
Links for your members to your site and provide “commercials” about your success.

Consulting Support – The leaders of The Center are ready, willing and able to share ideas and “swap stories” to help people. Just ask.

Best Practice Sharing – Join with other World Class Organizations with similar missions. Our intent is support both formal and informal exchanges of best practices as we learn together how to help people succeed.

2.) The Center also supports individual “Stars” including those with and without health challenges who support our mission and believe it can help them. Although we accept donations of funds or time, connections and suggestions from individuals today, we hope to also offer individuals a Web support capability over time at no charge. We intend to develop this tool with the hope that it will be motivational and inspirational to support anyone who can use a little help.

3.) The center will work with for profit, commercial organizations that provide current or plan future products and/or services to support and fund our mission. (see note 2 below)

An example of this partnership can be seen in the relationship between The Center and the MeadWestvaco Corporation’s AT-A-GLANCE® brand. Working together, the organizations developed a Day Planner intended to help children with diabetes. In the summer of 2006, a leading diabetes organization in Boston conducted a study at a camp for children wit diabetes to evaluate the tool’s and the curriculum’s ability to support improvement in knowledge, self -efficacy, quality of life, affect, and glycemic control. The Study found that the tools helped campers show improvements in self-efficacy and knowledge, reduced negative feelings about blood glucose monitoring and made a positive difference in diabetes control. The Study was highlighted at the ADA Scientific Session in Chicago in June 2007

The Bottom Line

Educators and staff who have added these tools to their existing, medically approved education programs report that participants demonstrate a higher retention of concepts and are “inspired” to teach others about the Balance & Stretch philosophy. Feedback has been similarly positive about the mutually reinforcing concepts of health and life balance. In short, education and motivation improves.

How do we get started?

The Balance & Stretch Center Inc. is pleased to offer a perpetual, no charge license for the referenced tools to any non-profit organization that shares a similar mission.  Contact Us Today!

Note 1: The Balance & Stretch Center Inc. offers non profit organizations a no charge, perpetual license for the use of all trademarks and copyrighted material to help people. For a copy of the Letter of Understanding to enable this sharing, please contact Rick Miller at rick@balanceandstretch.org .

Note 2: The Balance & Stretch Center Inc. is interested in developing mutually beneficial business relationships with companies that support our mission. To discuss how our organizations might support each others needs, please contact Rick Miller at rick@balanceandstretch.org.