YOUTH DEVELOPMENT:

Club HEALTH prepares Parma students for 5-k run and 1-k walk

Club Health students Fifth and sixth graders from State Road Elementary are hitting the streets in the name of health.

Approximately 90 students have signed up for Club H.E.A.L.T.H. (Helping Every Adolescent Learn to develop Healthy Habits), a program designed by Parma Community General Hospital and the Ridgewood Family YMCA.

Don’t confuse Club H.E.A.L.T.H. with Club Med. This is no walk in the park.

The students, with parent permission, meet with a team of YMCA and State Road Elementary staff three days a week to walk, run, work out, have fun, and, yes, earn prizes!

The determined and energetic group of students are definitely up for the challenge. To demonstrate their collective serious attitude, they even train during their recess period.

Students walk and run a course set up around their school for approximately 40 minutes with YMCA staff, and are encouraged to work out on their own on the weekends. The focus is on building healthy habits for the entire family, increasing students’ endurance, and becoming acclimated to an actual race course.

As the students continue to train, their sights are set on the Cuyahoga County Board of Health’s Run for Your Life 5K. Helping the students prepare for the 5K or 1-mile walk is the method behind the madness of trudging through the snow throughout February and March. Students who remain with the program up to Race Day are given free registration for either the 5K or 1-mile walk.

The program is the first of its kind for the Parma City Schools, and so far, the students are setting an amazing precedent. Both the hospital and the Y hope to grow the program in years to come.