 |
Friday, May 16, 2008 |
|
|
|
Temp:
|
25°C
|
|
Feels like:
|
24°C
|
|
Humidity:
|
26%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Healthy Kids Day set for June |
|
|
Written by SCOTT STANFIELD
Citizen staff
|
|
Sunday, 11 May 2008 |
The first-ever YMCA Healthy Kids Day will be a community celebration of active living held in conjunction with the 22nd annual road race, hosted by The Family YMCA of Prince George June 1 at Masich Place Stadium.
The inaugural event will include an array of entertainment, demonstrations, games and educational resources, the latter of which is intended to instill a greater awareness of children's health.
"It's meant to be fun, it's meant to make kids excited about being healthy, but obviously there's a serious undertone to it, which is the state of children's health," said Criss Turner, the Y's communications co-ordinator. "Statistics that we've been given, 33 per cent of children are either overweight or obese in Prince George."
The ultimate objective of the event is to encourage healthy behaviour at a young age that will carry on throughout an entire lifetime.
"We need to address it (children's health) practically," Turner said.
The road race kicks off at 8 a.m., followed by the Healthy Kids marathon at 10 a.m., which launches the Kids Day at the infield at Masich Place. The "marathon" is a cumulative effort throughout May that ends with three laps of the track on June 1.
The event also includes a high school challenge.
Proceeds from road race registrations will help send underprivileged children to the Y's Camp Kanannaq at the former Highland elementary school. The camp includes twice-weekly outings to a lake for traditional camp experiences.
"Last year we were able to send 90 children to camp for a week. That costs
$165 per child," Turner said.
This year's goal is to send 150 children to camp, which requires upwards of $20,000.
Integris Credit Union is the title sponsor of Healthy Kids Day while The Citizen is the print media sponsor. Although the first of its kind in Prince George, the event has been held for several years at 1,700 YMCAs around North America.
For a list of events, or to register for the road race, visit www.pgymca.bc.ca.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 11 May 2008 )
|
|
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 99 guests and 4 members online
|
159 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed