On Saturday, April 26, the Kosciusko Community YMCA is holding a free community event to inspire more kids to keep their minds and bodies active. YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day®, the Y’s national initiative to improve families’ health and well-being, features activities, demonstrations, a fun run, arts and crafts and more to motivate and teach families how to develop a healthy routine at home.

YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day, celebrated at nearly 1,600 Ys across the country, aims to get more kids moving and learning, so they can keep up the habit all summer long – a critical out-of-school time for kids’ health. Research shows that without access to out-of-school physical and learning activities, kids fall behind academically. Kids also gain weight twice as fast during summer than the school year.

“One in three U.S. children is obese. This statistic, coupled with the fact that once summer hits, children will be more idle, demonstrates why it’s important to help families develop healthy habits now,” said Tonya Douglass, senior program director, Kosciusko Community YMCA. “As part of the Y’s commitment to healthy living, through YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day our goal is to improve the health and well-being of kids and inspire habits they can continue into adulthood.”

In celebration of YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day, the Y offers the following tips to help families develop healthy habits:

• High Five the Fruits and Veggies – Make sure kids get at least five servings a day, the minimum number nutritionists recommend to maintain healthy childhood development.
• Foster an Early and Onging Passion for Books – Read to and with your kids. Help children read at every age and every stage of their development.
• Team Up for Athletic Events – Set a family goal of great health by teaming up for community or charity events like races, walks, fun runs. Bike rides, etc.
• Volunteer Together – Find a cause that matters to the kids. Open their eyes to a world beyond themselves and the rich rewards that come from making a difference.
• Lead By Example – Be a good role model – kids can be influenced by seeing how hard their parents work at home or on the job, and how rewarding that experience is.

The Kosciusko Community YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day takes place at the Smith Street YMCA  from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features fun, active play and educational activities, such as a one mile fun run at 9 a.m., a Zumba class for kids at 11:30 a.m., open climbing wall from noon to 1 p.m. and open swim from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

There will also be several activities in the gym from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. including crafts, face painting, hula hoop contests, a healthy snack walk and a parachute activity. There will be several community organizations available to educate and assist families in making healthy and safe choices from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. including Martins, The Trailhouse, Parkview Health, the Fire Department, Multi-Township EMS, and the American Red Cross.

Healthy Kids Day is free and open to all families. The Y will also be collecting used adult bikes for donation to Heart of the City Bicycles, a faith-based ministry that provides bikes in the inner city of Fort Wayne. Donate a bike any time before 1 p.m. and you’ll be given a guest pass to come back or bring a friend to the Y another day.

For more information, contact Tonya Douglass at 574-269-9622 or go to kcymca.org.