The mission of UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind is to promote self-confidence and healthy lifestyle choices among today’s youth.
Inadequate physical activity is a behavioral pattern established during youth. Many schools are forced to cut back or eliminate resources for physical education, contributing to an increased number of overweight, physically inactive students. Our goal is to help schools and educators prepare students for a lifetime of healthy activity.
Appalled by the dismal statistics on youth fitness and childhood obesity, Cindy and Bill Simon set out to address the lack of fitness resources available to students in their community. In 1998, the Simons took action by donating a state-of-the-art fitness center to their local Los Angeles high school. The success of their first fitness center lead them to establish the Sound Body Sound Mind Foundation as a permanent resource for physical education instructors and schools throughout the country.
In 2009, Sound Body Sound Mind expanded the program to four schools in Denver, Colorado. The effort was lead by Denver Public Schools and has grown to eight schools.
In 2011, Sound Body Sound Mind expanded again, this time to Dallas, Texas, to train educators from all 211 schools in the Dallas Independent School District on the Sound Body Sound Mind Curriculum.
In early 2012, Sound Body Sound Mind added two new support programs, giving partner schools more support for extracurricular fitness activities and fitness center maintenance.
In 2015, the Sound Body Sound Mind Foundation committed a $3,000,000 pledge to establish a partnership with the UCLA Health System. Now known as UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind, the joint organization replicates the original program model of the Sound Body Sound Mind Foundation while utilizing UCLA Health's prestigious network of experts and individuals working in the Los Angeles community.
In 2018, UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind celebrated their 20th year of commitment and service to children, teachers and families. Sound Body Sound Mind has impacted more than 740,000 cumulative students and have opened 137 fitness centers in the Los Angeles area. We continue to further our mission that physical activity positively influences healthier, happier, and more balanced lives.
At the end of 2020, the Sound Body Sound Mind Foundation was officially dissolved, and UCLA Health continues to operate the program in its entirety.
Today, UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind remains deeply committed to physical education. In addition to fitness centers and curriculum, SBSM is developing additional resources aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles and comprehensive wellness. With our continued investment in physical education at middle schools and high schools, UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind will create a more active and healthy generation of youth in Los Angeles.
