Walk To School Day 2017 in Kane County Set For Oct. 4
Hey, Kane County parents!
Are your kids walking to school on Wednesday (Oct. 4, 2017)? Are you planning to walk with them?
Walk to School Day on Oct. 4 in Kane County is a great way to get connected with your children, get yourself out of the office and into the fresh air and encourage physical activity and good health practices that can last a lifetime.
Last year, 72 Kane County schools participated, representing eight school districts. Nearly a third of all participating schools in Illinois were from Kane County.
International Walk to School Day is an annual global event involving communities from more than 40 countries walking or biking to school on the same day. In the United States, Walk to School Day is expected to include more than 5,000 events across all 50 states.
As a local host of Walk to School Day for the eighth year, Making Kane County Fit for Kids invites Kane County elementary and middle schools to participate and provides funding to PTOs or Schools to organize walks. Walking to school incorporates the regular physical activity children need daily while igniting a routine culture of healthy habits at school and home.
Making Kane County Fit for Kids goal to reduce childhood obesity includes guiding efforts on the local level through countywide mobilization. Fit for Kids strategies affect all of Kane County children, families, and communities.
A Making Kane County Fit for Kids Board leads and funds these efforts and includes the United Way of Elgin, Fox Valley United Way, Rush-Copley Foundation, Kane County Health Department, Kane County Division of Transportation and Northwestern Medicine. Working with schools to create environments that support healthy behavior is proven to not only make kids healthier, but it also helps them become better learners.
A strong countywide group of sponsors supported Walk to School Day 2017. Making Kane County Fit for Kids applauds title sponsor: ALDI, one of America’s leading grocery stores. Supporting this initiative builds on the Batavia-based company’s commitment to helping children and families live healthy lives.
“At ALDI, we believe all kids deserve access to resources that encourage healthy living,” said Laura Branneman, Batavia division vice president for ALDI. “We’re proud to work towards that goal in partnership with Making Kane County Fit for Kids by sponsoring this year’s eighth annual Walk to School Day.”
Making Kane County Fit for Kids thanks additional sponsors who augmented Walk to School Day 2017’s impact to be at it greatest level yet: Shodeen Family Foundation, city of Elgin, Advocate Sherman, city of Aurora, Presence Health, Rotary of Aurora, Rotary of Geneva, Rotary of Batavia, Noon Rotary of Elgin and Noon Rotary of St. Charles.
For all Kane county elementary or middle schools, there is still time to sign up for Walk to School Day! Register at www.makingkanefitforkids.org.
About Making Kane County Fit for Kids
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes community based initiatives of healthy eating and active living to reduce childhood obesity. Making Kane County Fit for Kids collaborates with community organizations, schools, municipalities, and other partners by funding implementation projects that support the Fit Kids 2020 Plan, a blueprint to create a Kane County that is “Fit for Kids.”
Strategic Action Principles affect all Kane children and families with particular attention to children most vulnerable and disproportionately affected. Since 2009, Making Kane County Fit for Kids has supported more than 100 projects, such as community gardens, bike racks, refrigerators at food pantries, nutrition workshops, Link Card accessibility at farmers markets, safe route education, demonstration wellness kitchens, heart rate monitors and salad bars at schools, playground equipment, and hosting eight annual International Walk to School Day events.
For more information, visit makingkanefitforkids.org
About ALDI Inc.
A leader in the grocery retailing industry, ALDI operates more than 1,600 U.S. stores in 35 states. More than 40 million customers each month save up to 50 percent on their grocery bills, benefiting from the ALDI simple and streamlined approach to retailing.
For the seventh year in a row, ALDI was recognized as a value leader among U.S. grocery stores by Market Force Information®. For more information about ALDI, visit aldi.us
