ON THE CREST
OF A WAVE!
JUST over a year ago, the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee
County (ELC) took the plunge and launched our WAVE
Fitness Program.
Designed to combat the growing issue of child obesity in Manatee
County, hundreds of local children began exercising and learning
about the importance of diet and nutrition, as highly trained
instructors held bi-weekly sessions at preschools across the
local community.
WAVE has been such a smash hit that it has already been funded
to the tune of $13,000 by generous grants from five different
organizations who were impressed by WAVE - and what the ELC
is trying to achieve with not only healthy bodies, but healthy minds.
WAVE has received amazing support and funding from:
• The Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Foundation - $5000
• Florida Winefest & Auction - $4000
• Service Club of Manatee County - $2000
• Kathleen K. Catlin Foundation (c/o Community Foundation of
Sarasota County) - $1500
• The Pittsburgh Pirates - $500
Sharon Oakes, ELC Chief Operating Officer, said: “We have been
truly blown away by the support that the WAVE Fitness Program
has received in the past year. It started as a pilot, and has just
continued to grow, and we are so grateful to the organizations
who have financially supported us with grants.
“We were particularly proud when, at the Florida Winefest &
Auction grant presentation, someone from the Kathleen K. Catlin
Foundation saw our presentation on WAVE and supported us with
a $1500 donation to the program.
“Child obesity is a major issue and we hope that WAVE can
continue to grow, that more children can be part of the program,
and the ELC can play its part in combating this problem.”
The WAVE program is a prevention-driven, health and wellness
program designed to support preschool children in achieving
goals for improving long-term health and wellness. WAVE applies
the principles of elite sports performance training to improve
gross motor skills, flexibility, balance, coordination and strength
while encouraging a lifestyle of consistent physical activity and
healthy choices.
Preschools receive a block of functional fitness programming
for their students twice per week. The 30-45-minute block of
training consists of five minutes of dynamic warm-up, followed by
a rotation through several stations. The stations emphasize one
of the five functional fitness areas: flexibility/mobility, strength,
speed, agility, and endurance. Additionally, the program includes
key components of the 5-2-1-0 Let’s Go & activities that promote
healthy eating and nutritional awareness.
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