More than 200 community members took steps — 154 miles worth of them — on Saturday, February 18, to support local schools and to emphasize the role of exercise in healthy living with the first Walk It Out Cleveland event of 2012.
Cash awards were made to the three schools whose supporters logged the most miles walked at the event. Top performances Saturday were: Presbyterian Day School, which was awarded $300 for 35 miles total; Bell Academy, $200 for 28 miles; and Parks Elementary, $100 for 23 miles.
The money awarded the three schools will be applied to health and wellness materials, according to Leigh Pickard, coordinator of the Healthy Campus/Community Initiative, a project of Delta State University’s College of Education.
Saturday’s Walk It Out Cleveland was the first of four such events scheduled for 2012. Last year, more than 1,800 participants walked over 2,000 miles in monthly events at various walking sites in Cleveland.
Walk It Out Cleveland is one part of the multi-faceted Healthy Campus/Community Initiative, which encourages a culture of health and wellness on the campuses of Delta State and Cleveland schools and throughout the community at large. Other HCCI programs include Court Street to Cleveland, in-school nutrition education, Fit-Tastic Fridays, health fairs, a mini-conference on health for local educators, OKRA Camp, and nutritional and fitness counseling.
The next HCCI community event will be Court Street to Cleveland, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday, March 2, which encourages the use of the street which connects Delta State and downtown Cleveland as a walking venue.
Healthy Campus/Community Initiative, now in its fourth year, is funded by the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, which has given $1.6 million to the initiative.
