The "Passport to Fitness" Youth Challenge - a collaboration between the PedNet Coalition and the Mayor's Council on Physical Fitness and Health has been enthusiastically received with almost 1,700 Columbia schoolchildren from 11 public schools and 5 private schools registering.
The program, developed as part of the "Bike, Walk, and Wheel: A Way of Life in Columbia" project, was offered to every elementary, middle, and junior high school in the entire Columbia Public School district, and requires local logistical support from the school's P.E. teacher, P.T.A. groups or office staff. Each month, participating students receive a special stamp in their "Passport" booklets if they have achieved the basic target of 240 minutes of physical activity per week. Prizes will be awarded at the end of each semester.
Boone Hospital, the principal sponsor, has printed the 36-page booklets, which includes health and fitness tips, information, and "Did You Knows?" written by University of Missouri Nutrition and Fitness researchers. The Empire Roller Rink and the ARC have donated prizes or made them available to this program at deep discounts. Congratulations to all of these organizations for making such tremendous contributions to the health of Columbia's children.
