AXEL RUPIZA, 7, tries on some alcohol goggles at the Audio C. David O’Neil, a board member, talks about the dangers of drinking in city and county schools.
ONE OF THE ACTIVITIES Saturday for the YMCA Healthy Kids Day was rock climbing wall. Jasper Sealy, 5, does some rock climbing with the assistance of Mason Shaner.
CLEVELAND CITY SCHOOL Nutrition Department had some volunteers on hand to talk about the city school cafeteria. From left are Cindy Erfmann, Stephanie Tuck, Angela Dawsey, Brenda O’Neil and Donna Eversol.
ERYN MONEY, 4, right, made a bracelet during the YMCA Healthy Kids Fair.
Pete Vanderpool of the Santa Project was on hand to help youngsters be aware of their surroundings without being afraid. With him are Tiffany Brock, Hunter Brock ad Cayden Brock.
Area youth ages 6 to 12 completed the annual Cleveland Family YMCA Healthy Kids Day “TRYathlon” Saturday which included a 1-mile run, 1.5-mile bike ride and 100-yard swim in the indoor pool.
Healthy Kids Day also included fitness programs and events designed to keep kids moving and having fun. Activities featured short fitness classes such as ZUMBAtomic, circuit training and ballet. The Camp Ocoee climbing wall, organized games and booths from various community organizations were also available.
“Today was a great event for the kids, community and the YMCA,” said Lee McChesney, Cleveland Family YMCA executive director and vice president. “This day is designed to celebrate healthy living, encourage kids and families to get excited about physical fun and activity, and most importantly, just play. With the help of our partners we accomplished our goal.”
In addition to the TRYathlon, HKD in conjunction with Behavioral Research Institute hosted a Day in the Park, and included games, inflatables from Bounce Around Playworld, and snacks. Many area agencies were on hand to provide fun and information about their services. Some of the agencies include the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, Blood Assurance Blood Mobile, United Way of Bradley County and the Air Evac Life team Helicopter.
Several sponsors have joined together to make the event a success, including the GRAAB Coalition which sponsored T-shirts for the first 200 kids, healthy snacks from Bi-Lo and Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, Scott’s Bikes and BRI.
YMCA Healthy Kids Day is part of YMCA “Activate America,” a national long-term initiative focused on developing and implementing community-based solutions to help all Americans improve their health and wellness. Serving over 19 million members, including 9 million youth under the age of 18, no other organization is better positioned to engage kids and families in fun and healthy physical activities than America’s YMCAs.
In Cleveland, the YMCA serves over 2,100 children and teens a year, and financial assistance is available. In 2011, the Y in partnership with United Way of Bradley County provided over $132,000 in scholarships to children and individuals for memberships, summer camp, after school programs and more.
