Accept The Challenge
Know Your Nutrients
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
America is in Desperate Need of an evidence-based and proven child obesity prevention program, as American's spend over 1.2 Trillion dollars annually just to treat obesity and its secondary diseases: Obesity, ($602 Billion) Diabetes, ($498 Billion) Hypertension, ($46 Billion) and Heart Disease ($115.6 Billion). Students from high poverty backgrounds often are not aware of how critical their food choices, knowledge of the body, the importance of exercise and/or the ability to be fit are to their futures, because of the health inequalities in our schools! As a result , the United States is the most obese country in the world; with tens of millions of youth succumbing to the negative effects of child obesity and its secondary diseases: (diabetes, heart disease, hypertension & asthma.) These children are expected to die before their parents! And tens of millions more have an elevated risk of developing child obesity due to several obesity risk factors:
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Operation Tone-Up Nutrition & Exercise Program
Accept the Challenge (ATC) was established in 1995 as an Arizona based non-profit to improve health to prevent childhood obesity and its secondary diseases for underprivileged children and their families. Our signature program, Operation Tone-Up® is nationally recognized as a proven and evidence-based program to prevent the development of childhood obesity and its secondary diseases.
(We have served over 1 million children since our inception.)
We provide a variety of nutrition and exercise programs to schools and families, along with teacher training and nutrition counseling. Our programs include pre/post-test measurements to assess improvement. We also do a thorough statistical analysis of the data collected to accurately understand the impact that our programs are having.
In 2012, we were proud to receive a patent (Patent # US 8,267,694 B1) for our nutrition and exercise program, Operation Tone-Up, an accomplishment that no other health initiative has been able to accomplish to date. Operation Tone-Up was identified by U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as a best practice based upon implementation with 10,000 students in the Chicago Public Schools district, (Please see NBC interview with Duncan at (www.atchallenge.org).
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Fiesta Bowl 2021
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of students showing improvement in test scores
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation Tone-Up Nutrition & Exercise Program
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We measure the change in the students pre/post-tests scores in the areas of: 1) Nutrition Knowledge, 2) Heart Health, (blood pressure & resting heart rate) and 3) Strength Endurance (push
Number of clients whose nutrition has improved
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Operation Tone-Up Nutrition & Exercise Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We use a pre/post-test model where participants are asked 10 multiple choice nutrition questions. One average 95% of the participants improve nutrition Knowledge.
Hours of physical activity performed by clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Operation Tone-Up Nutrition & Exercise Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Our programs track the amount of exercise down to the second.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We are PREVENTING childhood obesity and its secondary diseases by empowering youth with accurate knowledge about the top six nutrients and exercise with an evidence-based virtual program that socially changes the way children choose food and exercise. Our signature health program, Operation Tone-Up hands students the keys, the motivation, and the outcomes that will give them that equitable footing throughout their entire life.
America’s children DO NOT understand the importance of being physically and nutritionally fit and/or the importance of providing their bodies with the nutrients they need, because it is NOT taught to them! As a result, they are succumbing to the secondary diseases of obesity (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, asthma) at younger ages than ever before and are needlessly suffering and missing too much school due to illness.
Our organization's goals include: 1) Improve Whole Child Health, 2) Improve student’s nutrient knowledge, 3) Improve student’s Cardiovascular System, 4) Improve student’s strength/endurance, and 5) Create policy where youth receive nutrition and exercise in-school as part of their education. Our goals directly align with our mission to PREVENT childhood obesity & its secondary diseases (diabetes, hypertension and heart disease).
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategy is to build on the success that we are having in the PREVENTION of childhood obesity, see video below of how we helped to reduce childhood obesity 1.3% in West Virginia: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zir359o06crq0l9/Phone%20Number.mp4?dl=0
and find like partners and to make HEALTHFIRST equal to reading, writing and math in all our schools.
To make HEALTHFIRST equal to reading, writing and math in our schools, we wrote the HEALTHFIRST bill. A funded mandate that HEALTH in schools be equal to reading, writing and math. West Virginia and Illinois Legislators are currently reviewing this bill to pass, which will help to set the precedent and move the needle to teaching our children how to PREVENT childhood obesity and its secondary diseases ( diabetes, hypertension and heart disease) in school.
Once this bill passes, we can bring Health Equity into the classroom to provide evidence-based programs like Operation Tone-Up to help PREVENT childhood obesity/diabetes, which allows our children to grow up healthier and happier and not be saddled with the overwhelming physical, social/emotional and financial pains associated with childhood obesity and its secondary diseases (diabetes, hypertension, depression, socio-emotional disorders). Thus, creating a significant Health Care Cost Savings for the community!
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Tony Lamka the Executive Director of Accept The Challenge will be overseeing this grant program. Mr. Lamka has a eighteen-year-track-record of executing Operation Tone-Up® in multiple cities throughout the country, simultaneously, while scaling Operation Tone-Up® to over a million students. He has a long line (27 years) of expertise in nutrition and exercise and from 1997 to the present time wrote; field tested, refined, and implemented Operation Tone-Up.
Lamka has received numerous honors and accolades from school districts, city, state, and national officials, from throughout the country. Additionally, he has received sponsorships and grants from professional sports teams, giants of the food industry, and medical groups. CIGNA Healthcare representatives refer to him as “Superman" and have stated that you almost think that Tony Lamka is the equivalent of Clark Kent and can make his mission to prevent child obesity happen single handedly. The Dallas Independent School District likens Tony Lamka to health, as McGruff, the crime dog, is to crime. In addition to Mr. Lamka, all of our program trainers are professional educators in the field of nutrition and physical activity with an average of 19 years of experience.
Our organization's leadership skills, innovation, and expertise have led us to become a leader in the prevention and reversal of child obesity. We have a strong management team that is dedicated to getting the job done and hold quarterly board meetings to ensure that we are moving in the right direction. With an eighteen-year track record of executing Operation Tone-Up® in multiple cities throughout the country, simultaneously; scaling Operation Tone-Up® to millions of students is a reality that can be accomplished efficiently and effectively.
Our PR Department consistently delivers our message effectively to the local news, and our social media outlets, resulting in feature Operation Tone-Up® stories being aired on TV, print and/or radio, and has helped to attract funds for further growth.Please Google Operation Tone-Up, and/or Tony Lamka to see what is being said about the effectiveness of the program and Tony Lamka.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We are a leader in the PREVENTION of childhood obesity, and as such we continue to develop and create innovative ways to improve the health of our children to PREVENT disease. Most recently, we helped West Virginia to reduce childhood obesity 1.3%. This is incredible! Watch the video compilation below.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zir359o06crq0l9/Phone%20Number.mp4?dl=0
NOTE: When you PREVENT childhood, you also help to PREVENT its secondary diseases (diabetes, hypertension, social emotional disorders and asthma).
From our success in West Virginia we reached out to State Legislators to help pass the HEALTHFIRST bill, which will make health equal to reading, writing and math!
In addition, we translated our signature virtual health program, Operation Tone-Up into Spanish to help reach the communities hit hardest by childhood obesity and its secondary diseases. Plus, we made every video in Operation Tone-Up close captioned in both English and Spanish to help the hearing impaired and English Language Learners (ELL) and Spanish Language learners (SLL).
Two years ago, the Arizona Health & Physical Education (AZPHE) recognized Operation Tone-Up as a BEST PRACTICE program for improving students Health, Attendance and Academics. In addition, the CA Department of Education published a national article detailing the effectiveness of Operation Tone-Up in the areas of childhood obesity prevention and improving test scores and attendance.
In 2012, we were proud to receive a patent (Patent # US 8,267,694 B1) for our nutrition and exercise program, Operation Tone-Up, an accomplishment that no other health initiative has been able to accomplish to date. Operation Tone-Up was identified by U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as a best practice based upon implementation with 10,000 students in the Chicago Public Schools district, (Please see NBC interview with Duncan at (www.atchallenge.org).
Empirical Research Studies over the past 14 years, have consistently concluded that Operation Tone-Up is effective in the prevention of childhood obesity within our target market (children ages 9-12, grades 3-6). Results from the studies showed major improvements in students' nutritional knowledge, (range of +84% to +153%) strength & endurance, (+67% to +153%) and lowering blood pressure (-6% to -9%) and resting heart rate (-11%). Our results are consistently at the 0.001 (99.8%) level of confidence, an achievement that no other health initiative has been able to accomplish.
To date, we have helped more than a million children from around the country to prevent the development of child obesity and continue to reach more children and their families daily with our new products.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Accept The Challenge
Board of directorsas of 05/13/2023
Heidi Leuning
Inside Views
Term: 2020 - 2024
Jeff Seymour
Superintendent of Schools El Monte, CA
Term: 2020 - 2024
Heidi Leuning
Inside Views
Donna Stevens
City of Tempe
Dustin Bell
First Citizen Bank
Donna Moore
Payson Unified School District
Patti Mitchell
Moon Mountain Elementary
Jeff Seymour
Superintendent of Schools
Maria D Cater
The Eventors
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/07/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.