In a press conference this morning, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will join Northeastern president Joseph Aoun, Boston Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino and Dr. James Mandell, CEO of Children’s Hospital Boston, to announce the launch of Healthy Kids-Healthy Futures, a community-based early childhood pilot initiative aimed at preventing childhood obesity.

As part of Northeastern’s Stony Brook Initiative, Healthy Kids-Healthy Futures was created in partnership with the university, the Boston Red Sox, Children’s Hospital and Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD). The project’s goal is to engage early child-care providers and caregivers to promote healthy eating and increased physical activity among preschool age children and is working with ABCD Head Start providers in the Fenway, Mission Hill, South End and Lower Roxbury communities of Boston.

Named after an ancient waterway that connects the neighborhoods surrounding Northeastern, the Stony Brook Initiative is a unique and evolving partnership among Northeastern and its neighbors aimed at creating solutions to meet societal needs. The Healthy Kids-Healthy Futures partnership is an excellent example of the initiative’s multifaceted approach of collaboration, innovation and development of mutually beneficial partnerships.