Thanks to the WVU Energy Express program, some children will still have the opportunity to be active in a Kids Run Club this summer. Active SWV’s Kids Run Club program has been incorporated into the Energy Express Curriculum at both the Beards Fork location and the new Scarbro location. This is the third year Active SWV and WVU Energy Express have been able to partner and bring this fun opportunity to the Energy Express kids.
What is WVU Energy Express?
Facilitated and developed by the WVU Extension Service, Energy Express is an award-winning, 6-week, summer reading and nutrition program for children living in West Virginia’s rural and low-income communities. With Energy Express, more than 3,000 children statewide gain or maintain reading levels during summer months through creative, colorful and captivating uses of art, drama and vocabulary. This program also provides children with two nutritious meals each day during the program, helping to ensure the kids are fed each day even after the school year comes to an end.
This year, Tia Coleman is the site supervisor at Beards Fork and Alma Logan takes on that responsibility at the new Scarbro location. 16 other volunteer mentors will assist with the Energy Express programming, including the Kids Run Club component.
How does Kids Run Club fit in?
“[I want] to help kids feel confident in physical activity” – Broderick, WVU Energy Express Mentor/Kids Run Club Coach
Over the course of the 6 week Energy Express program, kids complete 30 mins of exercise a day, two of which are designated Kids Run Club days. To get ready for the season, Active SWV staff met with the Energy Express Mentors for a coaches training preparing them to lead the program at the Scarbro and Beards Fork sites. The mentors are all equipped with a Kids Run Club manual that contains stretches, exercises, running games, training workouts, and other resources. Active SWV will also provide some mini hurdles, cones, chalk, jump-ropes, and water coolers at both locations. In past seasons, Mentors have used this equipment to incorporate obstacle courses and games as well as distance running into the practices to keep them fun and dynamic. The season will end with a Fun Run event where the kids and coaches all celebrate the hard work everyone put in throughout the six weeks of running.
The regular fall Kids Run Club season will start up at the end of August and run through the end of October. To date, 34 different schools and community groups have had Kids Run Clubs since the program began in 2015.
Active SWV’s Kids Run Clubs are designed to be free, all inclusive environments where kids can be active in a structured and safe setting. Throughout the course of the Club, kids build confidence in their physical activity while learning life long healthy skills that they will carry with them beyond their time with the program. If you are interested in volunteering with a Run Club or starting a club at your school, contact [email protected] to get started!
Active SWV has more ways to get active, and they’re not just for kids! Take a look at our monthly program guide for upcoming events and fun ways to be active every day.
