Moving Lives
With every product you purchase, GAF will help a child improve their health by supporting.
did you know?
In Australia, over 16,000 people die prematurely each year due to physical inactivity. Globally physical inactivity is estimated to cause two millions deaths each year.
what do we do
We support children’s learning and development through delivering evidence-based programs in schools, training teachers, and using physical activity to develop children’s social and emotional wellbeing as well as their physical health.
In conjuction with partners like the YMCA and Playgroups, we support parents to create active families as well as provide information and resources.
We work with the fitness industry to develop a strong community of people working together to ensure more people reap the benefits of an active live.
We work to increase awareness of our sedentary lives through targeted information and resources, including our website, information sheets and campaigns to get people more active, e.g. Walktober™, a campaign to encourage walking, and QuitSit, a campaign encouraging people to move more and sit less.
We work in partnership with other organisations using the transformative power of physical activity to develop individuals and communities, e.g. Alannah and Madeline Foundation and Deaf Sports Australia.
We advocate for innovative solutions to provide greater opportunities for children, families and communities to be active.
WHY WE DO IT
As a society, we have stopped moving. Each generation of Australians is less physically active than the previous one, resulting in a sedentary epidemic. Nearly 70% of Australian adults are either sedentary or have low levels of physical activity, while two thirds of Australian children do not meet the daily Physical Activity Guidelines*. Given that physical activity is shown to decrease with age this does not augur well for our future. Less than a third of children meet the Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines of no more than 2 hours of screenbased entertainment a day
The main factors contributing to the sedentary epidemic are:
Perceptions of unsafe communities and fear of the outdoors
Reduced play space - backyards have shrunk and there is less green space available
Technology reducing our incidental movement
Changes in family structures and word patterns
Passive activities competing for our time
Increased use of cars for transport
OUR IMPACT
We are committed to more than just Giving. Learn how GAF partnered with Bluearth makes an impact.
Almost 2,000 teachers took part in Bluearth professional development sessions
Helped 25,440 students develop physical skills
Worked in indigenous communities in the East Kimberley, Darwin and Alice Springs
Over 100 students on remote stations in the Australian Outback participated in Bluearth via School of the Air
This year we ran a Student Leadership program for nearly 1000 students enabling them to run sessions for younger students and also parents
100% of Principals believed that the Bluearth program improves teachers confidence in delivering physical activity