The University of Colorado recently made headlines with their decision to return a 1 million dollar "gift" to Coca-Cola. What hasn't made headlines though, is that Coca-Cola turned around and gave that same gift to a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the lives of children all over America - the Boys & Girls Club of America.
The organization works to give children a safe place to go after school, helping them with homework and letting them play sports or do other activities. That's truly great, but they also have a longstanding partnership with Big Soda, going so far back as to 1948.
Laurie David, part of the team who made the documentary Fed Up, says:
Wouldn't it be great if the CEO of BGCA, Jim Clark, continued the trend and had the guts and integrity to hand this secondhand gift back to Coca-Cola?
...The University of Colorado's decision to return Coca-Cola's $1 million dollar grant was big news precisely because it's so unheard of for an organization of any kind to do such a thing. It's a heartening development for everyone who's worked so long and so hard to change the awful American diet, because it's proved that at least some institutions are capable of being shamed into doing the right thing.
Hopefully more and more organizations will follow in the University of Colorado's footsteps, making the future of our children safer and brighter.
Considering the epidemic of childhood obesity the BGCA motto on that Coca-Cola truck of "Building the Citizens of Tomorrow" seems to have come true in an unfortunate way.
If you think BGCA should return the gift, here's their Facebook page.
