Volunteers promoted active lifestyles and physical fitness among local children as part of effort to increase the number of healthy youth in Orange County
IRVINE – Nearly 250 Orange County children and parents were treated to a play day with 133 volunteers at Memorial Park in Santa Ana on Saturday thanks to Orange County United Way and its corporate partners.
The first quarterly Day of Caring in 2016 was held March 12 at the 17-acre park under mostly sunny skies. The program for the day encouraged kids to stay fit through activity, included physical fitness obstacle courses, soccer agility stations, relay races, basketball and kickball. Each participant received a gym bag and sports equipment, courtesy of sponsors Wells Fargo and AT&T, as well as the many volunteers who attended, to encourage greater physical activity.
Each of the four quarterly Days of Caring supports one of the FACE 2024 goals created by United Way to establish the building blocks for a good life. These include Education, Income, Health and Housing. The Health goal of the FACE 2024 community-wide action plan is to increase the number of healthy youth in Orange County by one-third by the year 2024, as measured through obesity rates.
“Today’s Day of Caring is focused on promoting healthy lifestyles and encouraging kids to get out of the house, get fit and have fun doing so,” said Kautrina Morgan, Volunteer Engagement Manager at Orange County United Way. “Study after study shows that physical activity, along with healthy eating at an early, age goes a long way toward reducing obesity and health problems later in life.”
These events also enable Orange County United Way’s partners to volunteer their time to support underserved neighbors in the community. A record number of volunteers showed up to participate in the Day of Caring.
“We appreciate the many individuals and families who took time out of their weekends to volunteer and support healthy lifestyles alongside local children,” concluded Morgan.
The next Day of Caring, scheduled to take place in May, will be a professional resource fair focused on income and financial stability. During that event, United Way partners will team up to offer local job seekers free job training, resume support, mock interviews, lightly used professional attire as well as hair and make-up advice on dressing for success.
NEWS CONTACTS:
Katherine Ransom, Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Orange County United Way 949.263.6176, [email protected]
Michael Suydam
21Strat 949.981.5008, [email protected]
ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY UNITED WAY:
Since 1924, Orange County United Way has been working to improve lives and strengthen our community by mobilizing the caring power of Orange County and focusing on the building blocks for a good quality of life: Education, Income, Health and Housing. By investing in Orange County children, families and individuals, we help them create pathways to self-sufficient lives. In short, we help people help themselves. Through our 10-year community-wide action plan, “FACE 2024” (an acronym for Fund, Advocate, Collaborate, Educate), we collaborate with local businesses, community organizations, governmental agencies and individuals to make a long-term measurable difference in the lives of local individuals and families. To learn more or to join our movement, visit www.unitedwayoc.org.
