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YMCA's 'Move-a-Thon' program has kids powering-up
'We want to kick-start healthy life habits for kids to uses now, later in their adult lives,' CEO says

by Jeb Bing

How many East Bay YMCA members does it take to put in a light bulb?

Robert Wilkins, president and chief executive officer of the organization, is not sure. But he does know that YMCA members during the recent Healthy Kids Day event participated in a day-long "Move-a-Thon" and collectively generated enough energy to power the average East Bay home for two-and-a-half days.

More than 500 Y members celebrated Healthy Kids Day by participating in the "Move-A-Thon" program. It encourages children and families to participate in circuit exercise stations and record the number of repetitions of the exercises they complete within one minute.

Wilkins said the idea behind the Move-A-Thon is to teach kids basic exercises, the kind they can perform at home without the need for expensive electronic equipment.

"We want to kick-start healthy life habits for kids that they can use now and on into their adult lives," he said. "By participating with their families and learning that instead of using energy they can create it just by doing a few sit-ups or jumping jacks, we hope kids will improve their own health and be more conscious of the environment around them."

At the end of the summer, the Y plans to look at the progress of participants to track improvement, as well as total energy expended in the program. The Y is also providing a "Keep It Movin'" website, from which participants can access encouraging messages from the Healthy Home Guidebook; links to other recommended sites; a chalkboard/blogspot for participants to announce progress and achievements and much more.