The Wallaceburg Defiance Running Club was recognized on Monday night in the Chatham-Kent council chambers.
Feature Act is a recognition program of the CK Community Leaders’ Cabinet in partnership with the Wallaceburg & District Chamber of Commerce, the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce and the Tilbury Chamber of Commerce as a way to say thanks for building a better Chatham–Kent.
Recognition was given to the executive of the Wallaceburg club for the actions taken to offer free programs to encourage kids to be active.
In the fall of 2014 the program reached over 3,000 kids and 33,000 kilometres was logged in eight weeks.
Mark Childs, club president, said they started the program to enable youth to become active at a level that best suits them, a great first step toward better health.
Many children cannot run, but almost every child can walk, and as the old saying goes, “walk before you run.”
“Our mission from day one was to help address the youth health issue, which has become a huge problem across Canada and more specifically in our area it is really a problem,” Childs said.
The Defiance Running Club partnered with Chatham Kent Public Health in 2014 to offer a better program to the schools, making the children aware of better eating habits.
“It has taken off,” Childs said. “There is growing still to do yet, but we feel our 3,000 this year will be 6,000 next year”
Karen Debergh, President of the Wallaceburg and District Chamber of Commerce, said programs like these not only make Wallaceburg a great place to live and do business in but it shows how a local group cares about creating a community where youth can prosper, succeed and be healthy.
Mayor Randy Hope thanked everyone for their commitment to taking actions to create a better Chatham-Kent.
– Submitted photo
