Faces of Marathon Kids: Betsy Foster
By MK Editor, May 23, 2021
Betsy Foster has been supporting Marathon Kids for 20 years. Please consider making a donation in her name to sustain the future of free physical activity programming for children.
As CEO of Healthy America and a former senior executive at Whole Foods—most recently as Senior Vice President of Growth and Business Development, a position she held for 15 years—Betsy Foster has long prioritized health and wellness, especially for children. When she met with Kay Morris nearly 20 years ago to brainstorm together about how to grow and expand Marathon Kids, it was a natural move to accept Morris’s invitation to join the organization’s advisory board. In 2007, Foster joined the board, and she has been a Marathon Kids board member ever since.
“I was drawn to Marathon Kids because their mission is about getting all children moving and on a path to health,” she says. “I found Marathon Kids to have a solid program that really resonated with kids and schools, and could be implemented at school to create movement almost every day of the week. This program could address the increasing obesity in our children, and keep them active and healthy and away from screens.”
Physical Activity Improves Overall Wellbeing
Foster believes physical activity is important not just for the mind and the body, but for overall health and wellbeing. “Our bodies need and want to move. We perform better in school and at work if we are active and healthy.”
She appreciates Marathon Kids for the way the organization has created a “structured, fun, inspiring way to engage our children to move, and teaches and instills in them healthy habits they can carry with them the rest of their lives. It teaches them that they can do things they didn’t know they could, and they feel better when they do it!”
Children Need Leaders Who Inspire Them
Foster believes anyone with an interest in helping children build foundations for a healthy life should get involved with Marathon Kids. “This is a great program for our children,” she says, “who need leaders to motivate, inspire and engage them to become healthier and more active. This is a great gift you would be giving to our children! They need you.”
To keep Marathon Kids free for all children, please consider making a donation to Betsy's 25th Anniversary Fundraiser.