Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Wednesday, September 28, 2011

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The Cassidy kids are strong coming out of the gate when it's their turn in the jog-a-thon. Each class runs or walks for 15 minutes in the annual event, which raises money for health and wellness initiatives.

At Cassidy Elementary, the PTA wants healthy lifestyle choices to become second nature for children. That’s why the school’s annual jog-a-thon is a highly anticipated event.

“It’s such a big deal to get these kids active and moving. Any kind of good example we can give them is the thing to do,” said homeroom mom Renee Roland, whose older daughters are in first and fourth grade. “It’s awesome to see some teachers out there running, too,” she said during the sixth jog-a-thon.

Parents come out to cheer their children, mark laps and hand out cups of water as each elementary class runs or walks for 15 minutes on the Morton Middle School track next door. The students collect pledges on a per-lap or flat rate to support health and wellness initiatives at Cassidy. Last year’s jog-a-thon netted about $4,000.

“Sometimes peer pressure can be a good thing,” Roland noted Tuesday. “The kids want to get out there and do the best they can.”

In the beginning, the jog-a-thon was a fundraiser for P.E. classes and playground equipment. More recently, the money has helped provide an outdoor classroom with raised gardening beds, a Wii Fit system for rainy-day recesses and community health fairs.

“It’s popular and fits right in with green and healthy,” said PTA president Cristi Hundley.

The jog-a-thon also fits well in September, which is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than tripled during the past 30 years. It cuts across all cultural and demographic lines,” said Casey Hinds, who chairs the Green and Healthy Schools Team at Cassidy.

“One key to fighting childhood obesity is prevention. Regular physical activity and nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains can lower children’s chances of becoming obese and developing chronic diseases,” she said. “Schools are a great venue for teaching children what a healthy choice looks like and tastes like.”

Hundley agreed, saying the PTA wants to do its part in educating the Cassidy community.

“The point that rallies us around the cause is to give children and their parents and families the information to help them make healthier choices,” she said.

The message is taking hold. For instance, simple actions like selecting water in the lunch line instead of fruit juice are now much more commonplace among the students.

“They’re making healthy choices and not really noticing they’re doing it,” Hundley said. “It’s becoming part of their culture and part of their patterns.”