Want $100 for Your PTO? Join the Fun of Walk to School Day
Calling all middle-school and elementary-school PTOs in Kane County!
If you’d like your school to participate in the Oct. 8, 2014, now’s the time to get in touch with the Fit for Kids Funders Consortium.
When students, families and faculty join the fun in walking to school on Oct. 8, your PTO will be eligible to receive $100 through the Making Kane County Fit For Kids Campaign. Registration is now open, and signing up is easy. Just click Register Now! to download a registration form. You also can call 630-264-7689 or email info@makingkanefitforkids.org for more information.
The Fit for Kids campaign is a public-private partnership that began in 2008 with a goal to reverse childhood obesity and
improve the health of Kane County children.
Fit for Kids Coordinator Jane Maxwell says the International Walk to School program has been one of the success stories of the Fit for Kids program. Last year, 60 Kane County schools participated — accounting for 37 percent of all the Illinois schools that took part in the event — and the number has grown each year since the organization started promoting International Walk to School Day five years ago.
The $100 incentive for PTOs isn’t a huge amount of money, but it is a way for Fit for Kids to say thank you and to raise awareness of the event.
“We know this is a lot of work, so we try to give them incentives to participate,” Maxwell said.
The overarching goal, of course, is to get more kids walking to school throughout the year. International Walk to School Day raises awareness and encourage parents, schools and PTOs to adopt plans and policies that encourage physical activity for our children.
Fit for Kids has all kinds of great ideas for making events successful and fun for each school, from promoting a “Walk to School Week” to distributing “Fit for Kids” stickers, to “Walk to School Wednesdays” to a “Walking School Bus.”
“This is a wonderful, fun one-day event, but we know there is a benefit to walking the whole year,” Maxwell said. “We know that students who are active perform well in school.”
Click the link if you’re interested in sponsoring Walk to School Day. More information and registration details can be found at www.makingkanefitforkids.org.
