Monday, March 21, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karen Colburn, Executive Director, Box of Rain
Contact email: info@boxofrainannapolis.org
Box of Rain and Pip Moyer Community Recreation Center partner to cele ate Healthy Anne Arundel Month and the Surgeon General's Walkability Initiative with STEP IT UP KIDS!
ANNAPOLIS—Box of Rain, an Annapolis-based 501(c)3 organization that mentors disadvantaged Annapolis youth is partnering with the Pip Moyer Community Recreation Center and Junior League to offer a 6-week health and fitness program to kids in nearby public housing.
Each Saturday for 6 weeks beginning April 2, more than 20 youth will be walked to the Pip Moyer Center by community volunteers and Box of Rain youth counselors, where Certified Personal Trainer Leigh Macey and Navy midshipmen will introduce them to the benefits of incorporating physical activity and good nutrition into daily life.
Junior League and AACPS will start the morning by providing healthy eakfasts. “Learning healthy eating habits when you’re young leads to a life-long healthy lifestyle,” says Jen Jennings, Community/Employee Health, Fitness and Aquatics Supervisor for Pip Moyer.
Through fun-filled activities ranging from yoga and dance to competitive team games, Box of Rain kids will be challenged to develop their physical side, while practicing sportsmanship and teamwork in a mentored setting. For their effort, STEP IT UP kids will earn a pedometer watch at the end of the session. “Our goal is to instill a love of fitness and show the kids that it can be fun to get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each day,” says Leigh Macey, who designed the program especially for Box of Rain.
Box of Rain serves more than 60 at-risk youth through its year-round mentoring programs. Most of those served reside in Annapolis public housing. The organization was formed in 2003 to honor the memory of Lee Griffin, a dedicated sailor and Annapolis community member who was the victim of a violent crime. Its mission for our town’s disadvantaged youth is to nurture self-esteem and develop life skills that lead to positive contributions to the community.
See more about the Surgeon General’s Step It Up! Initiative at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/li ary/calls/walking-and-walkable-communities/
To contact Leigh Macey of Fit4Ever Training, email fit4evertraining@gmail.com
See more about Box of Rain at http://www.boxofrainannapolis.org