Children and their families pass through the line to fill their plates with food during the holiday meal at the Boys and Girls Club of Norman Dec. 9.
Paxson Haws | The Transcript
A $48,000 grant from the Herbalife Family Foundation will support nutrition and wellness programming for approximately 200 youth at the Boys & Girls Club of Norman.
The funding supports physical and mental health for youth ages 6 to 18 years old who attend the club’s after-school and summer programs that cost $20 per school year.
“Funding like this allows us to do really robust programming,” Melissa Klink, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Norman, said. “We use it for things like swimming during summer camp, our swim field trips or other active field trips.”
The Boys & Girls Club currently operates two locations with plans to open a third site at Reaves Park in 2026.
The grant supports activities ranging from swim field trips and trampoline park visits to playground maintenance and cooking classes. Through a partnership spanning several years, Herbalife has consistently funded the club’s Healthy Lifestyles programming, which combines physical activity with character development and mental health support.
“We partner with Herbalife and they have received this grant several years in a row now,” Klink said. “Their funding goes directly to supporting Boys & Girls Club, specifically our Healthy Lifestyles programming.”
The club serves 120 children at its main location and 50 at Irving Middle School, according to Klink, with additional participants during summer camp pushing the total to around 200 annually.
Programming extends beyond traditional fitness activities to include culturally themed cooking sessions, such as preparing different foods during heritage month celebrations, Klink said.
The money also covers essential infrastructure and supplies. Staff use grant funds to purchase mulch for playground safety, sports equipment for outdoor games, and ingredients for cooking classes where children learn to prepare nutritious meals.
“When the kids get to cook in the kitchen and when they either share meals that they cook at home or they take recipes or ideas that they learn here at the club and they’re able to bring those home and share them with their family, I always think that’s super impactful,” Klink said.
The program pairs nutrition education with character building and leadership development. Klink said she has noticed personal transformations in participants over her years leading the organization, watching elementary students mature into high schoolers while developing social skills and forming friendships.
“It’s so fun to see the middle schoolers or even high schoolers and go back to when they were in elementary school and just watch how they really grow up in Boys & Girls Club,” Klink said.
Mental wellness is another component of the grant’s scope. Staff facilitate groups focused on social skills and emotional development alongside physical health initiatives.
Pooja Jhobalia-Pelham, director of Social Impact at Herbalife Family Foundation, said The Casa Herbalife Program focuses on organizations that provide safe spaces for children while expanding nutrition and education access.
“Community organizations are often introduced to the Casa Herbalife Program through our independent distributors, who are instrumental in identifying meaningful local partnerships,” Jhobalia-Pelham said.
The global Casa Herbalife Program distributed $5 million this year to 173 nonprofit organizations across 60 countries and territories, reaching more than 200,000 children and families worldwide, according to the Herbalife Family Foundation.
