The Active SWV’s Kids Run Club program works with elementary schools throughout Raleigh, Summers, Nicholas, and Fayette counties, striving to remove barriers to living healthy lifestyles, and enabling kids to lead active lives. The program provides solutions to challenges that keep children from being active by providing basic opportunities for structured physical activity, assuring that the program is free for all, and teaching lifelong skills that give participating youth confidence in their ability to be lead healthy, active lives beyond the tenure of the program.
1. Creating Opportunities
Many elementary schools do not have sports teams, and those that do may only have spaces for a few children to participate. Raleigh County elementary schools have a limited number of spots on their teams, and other area elementary schools aren’t able to provide that opportunity at all. Consequently, many children don’t have a chance to explore their athletic abilities early on.
By offering Kids Run Clubs at schools, Active SWV seeks to remove this barrier by simply providing a basic opportunity for all kids to get active. Whether it’s before school or after school, parent and teacher volunteer coaches make it possible for any and every child to exercise with their peers in a structured, inclusive, and positive environment.
“Really the whole reason I started it was because of the ‘all inclusive’. I wanted all the kids to have something that they could do, no try outs, no mvps, no all stars. They all were great and only competed against themselves, and I loved that!”
– Tabatha Mallot, Ghent Elementary
2. Free Programming
While there might be great opportunities available to be a part of a non school sponsored sports team, activities like this can prove to be a financial hardship for some families. Active SWV’s Kids Run Clubs are free for all kids to take part in, making them accessible to a wider reach of youth participants.
Active SWV also provides other free opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to get active, which you can find more information on here. Kids and their families can participate in many of these free activities taking place in their communities, making regular physical activity a family affair!
3. Teaching Confidence and Know-How
Active SWV’s program strives to teach children how to understand and enjoy exercise while emphasizing healthy habits that will stay with them beyond the length of the program. The goal is that kids will learn to feel confident in their athletic abilities by participating in the inclusive and encouraging environment that a Kids Run Club provides.
The clubs also work to education youth around the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle by including teachable moments around nutrition, hydration, and muscle movement so that kids gain a broader understanding of what goes into living a healthy life. Also, youth participants are often able to spread confidence in physical activity to others around them by getting a parent or someone else at home to be active with them.
Take a look at our 2017 Kids Run Club Report to read more about some of the great benefits and impacts of the program!
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Review all the Active SWV programs here.
