One third of American children were overweight or obese in 2010, and there are 7.9 million uninsured children. Combatting these statistics was one of the goals of the fourth annual Get Moving for Healthy Kids run/walk at City High.
“The idea behind this event is to promote family fitness and that doing physical activity is good for one’s health, and can be fun.” Susie Poulton, event coordinator and Director of Health and Student Services at ICCSD said.
Get Moving for Healthy Kids was at 8 AM Sunday, August 25th. This event is designed to encourage activity in children and as a fundraiser for Healthy Kids Community Care, a series of school based free health clinics. The clinics perform many tasks, including physicals, immunizations, health education, prescriptions, and treatments. They have benefited more than 1200 children over five years in ICCSD schools that could not otherwise afford these services.
Natalia Espina, Clinic Coordinator/Manager at Healthy Kids, believes this event is “promoting healthy living, and kids doing diverse activities.” Healthy Kids Community Care promotes exercise, and tries to encourage children. For variety, Progressive Rehab conducted Zumba warm-up exercises. Truman Thompson, age 8, who participated in every event, including the 5k. “It’s my third year,” Thompson said. “I really like trail running”.
A group of volunteers, some who helped to establish the Healthy Kids school-based health clinics, also developed this event. Volunteers for this year included City High Cross Country runners Rachel Gralnek and Peyton Greazel, who say Get Moving for Healthy Kids is “a lot of fun, [and] a great thing to get involved with.”
Atop the bleachers, ICCSD Farm to School chapter,ISU Extension Office, UIHC, Girls on the Run, Children’s Center for Therapy, and others hosted stands with information on healthy living.
This event was made accessible by all people. Ability level in each run varied greatly, from the strongest runners to babies in stroller, and low income runners had the opportunity to waive the entrance fee. Around 300 runners participated Sunday, narrated by Terrence Neuzil.
“The idea is to eventually become self-sustaining,” Espina said. “United Way is our partner, but we’d like to be able to just hold on our own.”
