Marathon Kids Receives Healthy Kids, Healthy Families Grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
Award will fund Marathon Kids physical activity program and technology
Austin, Texas, (9/21/2022) Marathon Kids today announced it was awarded a Healthy Kids, Healthy Families® (HKHF) grant by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX). The HKHF funding will support BCBSTX’s commitment to community-based organizations supporting children and families that focus on health and wellness and target impacts of socio-economic and social determinants of health, as well as economic opportunity.
Marathon Kids is a nonprofit organization on a mission to get kids moving throughout the day by engaging kids in a positive, goal-driven program that challenges them to run, jog, walk or move the equivalent of four (or more!) marathons over the course of a season or school year. It allows kids of all abilities to unlock their potential, one mile at a time.
“We are thrilled to be a recipient of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Families grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas,” said Cami Hawkins, CEO of Marathon Kids. “Through the HKHF grants, Marathon Kids is improving its technology in order to reach more kids across the state of Texas and improve physical activity levels. We believe kids are at their best and healthiest when they are regularly active and BCBSTX is a proven partner in building healthy communities.”
Marathon Kids provides schools and community organizations with evidence-based running and walking programming for students through Marathon Kids Connect, their free, activity-tracking app and cloud-based SaaS platform.
With the free programming Marathon Kids provides, kids and parents are properly equipped to combat the youth inactivity crisis, strengthen mental health, and support the physical well-being of children.
Launched in 2011, HKHF started as a three-year project designed to improve the health and wellness of at least one million children through community investments. The program was extended as BCBSTX’s ongoing commitment to the health and well-being of the children and families across Texas.
“We are happy to award these grants that will support and nurture meaningful and transformational projects across Texas,” said Sheena Payne, BCBSTX’s director of Community Investments. “Strategically, it is also important that we continue to aid community-based organizations that are directly supporting children and families with health and wellness equity as well as building foundations for economic opportunity.”
The HKHF program – which centers on nutrition, physical activity, disease prevention and management and supporting safe environments – has awarded more than $20 million in funding since inception, and this year will impact the lives of more than 5 million children and adults in Texas.
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Marathon Kids is on a mission to get kids moving. The nonprofit organization offers free physical education programming through Marathon Kids Connect, a cloud-based PE and run club management platform that includes a mobile app for digital activity tracking.
Participating students work at their own pace to run, or walk, the equivalent mileage of four or more marathons (104.8 miles) over the course of the school year. Marathon Kids provides training, tools, technology, and resources to the dedicated, motivated, and inspiring teachers and coaches who support kids every step of the way.
Marathon Kids’ partners and funders include Nike, H-E-B, Bender Foundation, BBB serving the Heart of Texas, Statesman Cap10K, Austin Runners Club, and the Dallas Loop-the-Lake Foundation.
For more information visit marathonkids.org or find us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
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