Game Day Challenge

It’s April and that means there is a new Champions for Kids SIMPLE Service Project! This month’s project is the Odwalla Game Day Challenge. The goal is to get kids moving! Exercise is so important for everyone but especially for kids. It’s even better if that exercise is done outside! My kids are fortunate to have recess before school and after lunch and physical education on most days but that isn’t the way it is across the United States.

• 1 out of 3 children and teens in the US are overweight, which puts them at risk
of developing serious health problems, including diabetes, heart disease and asthma.

• Only 3.8 percent of elementary schools, 7.9 percent of middle schools and
2.1 percent of high schools provide daily physical exercise for their students.

• Children who play sports have better eating habits and nutrient intake than those
who do not, and this combination of physical exercise and balanced diet contributes
to improved health and academic achievement. Odwalla believes in Nourishing The
Body Whole® so that children can have healthy nutrition and lead strong lives!

My husband loves old school BMX bikes and has passed that love of biking to our kids! Here are a few of the bikes we currently own. Biking is their favorite way to get exercise but they don’t think of it was exercise…just fun! I really wanted to be able to donate some bikes but due to the cost of new bikes it would have to be used bikes. And the used bikes would have to be in tip top shape and then I didn’t know where I could donate it. I did some local research and decided to go a different route.

I went shopping at Walmart to pick up some items to donate. We found Odwalla juice and sport equipment. My daughter Vanessa and my niece came with me. My niece took a ride under the cart and thoroughly enjoyed it!

My kids love playground balls. The can be used for foursquare, kickball and night games. We bought one of these to donate and bought one to keep because ours is worn out! My kids can’t wait to play with it after school tonight. We found a baseball bat and ball, bubbles, a playground ball, a football and jump ropes to donate to our local food shelf. The food shelf is about more than just food. They also have so much more available like toiletries, clothes, shoes and toys. We’ve donated here before as well as to other local charities.

Since the kids who will be receiving the donations are going to be exercising, they are going to need something nutritious to drink too! So, we added 5 bottles of Odwalla juice to our donation. Odwalla juice is full of all the good stuff (vitamins, proteins and antioxidants) and none of the bad stuff (artificial colors, flavors and preservatives) which is perfect for young growing bodies. I had never heard of Odwalla juice but want to have my kids try it now! We chose 2 Blueberry B, 2 Mango Tango and 1 Citrus C.

I would love for you to get involved with in this month’s Champions For Kids SIMPLE Service Project! Here are some ideas:

~Gather your kids gently used sports equipment to donate.
~Organized a used equipment drive with your child’s teammates.
~Pick up a few new items to donate the next time you are shopping.
~Donate money to an organization that helps keep kids active.
~Ask your favorite charity what kind of sport equipment is in need.
~Donate your time to keep keep kids active.

Then, visit Champions For Kids and fill out a simple form letting them know how you participated. The goal is to mobilize 20 million people by 2020, so get involved! You can also follow Champions for Kids on Twitter #OdwallaCFK and Like Champions For Kids on Facebook.

Here are some of the items we will be donating…what about you?

Comments

Ki Lynn says

April 12, 2012 at 2:00 am

Tonia, what a great grouping of items to donate! You have chosen such a variety to appeal to so many different interests.I am an account manager with Champions for Kids, and I loved reading your post. Thank you so much for participating and for telling others how they can take part too!!

Anne @ Domesblissity says

April 11, 2012 at 11:25 am

You’re such a generous, kind person Tonia. They should have more programs like that here in Australia. They do have 1 program where supermarkets will donate sporting equipment to schools who collect the most shopping dockets. The kid’s school has done well out of it.Anne xx

Jen@BigBinder says

April 11, 2012 at 1:23 am

Those are GREAT donations! I am looking forward to seeing where you donate them! We went the bike donation route – but I only knew about the place because my husband is an avid biker and was already connected; I hope that writing about the bike ministry in my area it lets more people know about it!

Page says

April 10, 2012 at 8:24 pm

So excited that you are participating in Odwalla’s Game Day Challenge!! Thank you for telling others how they too can get involved!! Can’t wait to see where you donate all of the fun sports equipment!!

Lindsay says

April 10, 2012 at 7:02 pm

You got some awesome things. I bet the children loved it!

MAMA BRANDI says

April 10, 2012 at 6:52 pm

It looks like you were able to get a lot of really nice stuff! I can’t wait to find out how the children you donate it to react when they receive it!

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