ABBOTSFORD-- In a world where Xbox Live, texting and Instagram can easily be more popular with youth than neighbourhood games of baseball, red rover and kickball, staying fit has become a challenge for many children.
In an effort to raise awareness and provide opportunities for students to learn how to train for a road run, the Envision Financial: Learn, Create, Run program is teaching students that getting active can have purpose behind it, and that every step can count for a better world.
This year, more than 10,000 B.C. students have learned about the water crisis in Ethiopia through professionally developed curriculum for all age groups or a school assembly offered by the Envision Financial Run for Water.
Students learn of the plight of thousands of girls their age who walk for hours every day to collect disease-infested water for their families. With themes such as social responsibility and healthy living, teachers have been able to weave the lessons into health and career and social studies classes.
The process climaxes with either a school mini-run on campus or the community Run For Water on Sunday, May 26 at Mill Lake Park in Abbotsford.
Jill Arseneau teaches a French immersion Grade 4 class at Margaret Stenersen. “Our students love the informational assembly, the training, the fundraising and then, of course, the run itself.
"We have music, balloons, Drip [the mascot], parents cheering and a finish line with treats for the kids. The students want to be able to help people in the world who need it, and with this event, they are very clear on the desperate need of the people involved, and they are so happy to have the opportunity to help. All students in our school participate at some level.”
Arseneau continues: “The students in my class planned a carnival to raise money. They had so much fun organizing and running the event. It was wonderful because it was completely their idea and we raised over $200 in a fun morning.”
Every student from kindergarten to Grade 5 at Margaret Stenersen Elementary went through a two-month training program to build up to the mini-run’s course around a nearby neighbourhood. Students earned ribbons for the amount of laps they could finish in 30 minutes. This activity helped the students’ required daily physical activity have meaning and purpose, so much so that students may not have realized they were getting fit in the process.
“If we can make fitness fun while raising global awareness, it is a win-win situation,” Envision Financial Run for Water school liason Betty Baerg explains. Baerg advised and helped more than 25 schools set up their mini-runs, bringing banners, ribbons, music and Drip the mascot to their campus this year.
“When we originally created the Envision Financial Run for Water curriculum we had no idea that it would have this level of impact on so many people,” says Susan Byrom, manager of community investment at Envision Financial. “It is encouraging to see that the time and funds our organization has invested are making a meaningful difference to people in our local and global communities.” For schools who have participated in the curriculum, Envision Financial subsidizes their entry fee into the community run.
The sixth annual Envision Financial Run for Water will be held on May 26 at Mill Lake Park. For more information on the 5K fun run, 10K, half or full marathons, see www.runforwater.ca or like Run for Water on Facebook.