The American Heart Association Midwest Affiliate has awarded the YMCA of Rapid City a $6,000 grant through its Community Action Grant initiative. The grant will go to fund Shapedown, an activity and nutrition program for youths and teenagers in the Rapid City area.

Shapedown engages families in creating an active lifestyle and a healthy diet. The program is designed to lessen the importance of food for young people and emphasize activity as more exciting, allowing the child's weight begins to normalize. The grant will fund four 10-week sessions of Shapedown in Rapid City.

The American Heart Association's Community Action Grants were created to provide funding to community projects in the Midwest affiliate. Recipients must be nonprofit organizations that serve the community. More than $200,000 in grants were awarded from the Midwest affiliate in July of 2008.