SOLEDAD — The time has come again for the YMCA Healthy Kids Day Event. This year the event will be on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and as usual it is free to everyone in South County and open to all ages.
“The first ‘Healthy Kids Day’ national event was hosted across the country in 1992,” said Joe Gonzales, executive director of the South County YMCA. “South County YMCA has proudly hosted this event for our community for over 11 years at the Y.”
Health Kids Day, which most United States YMCAs consider a national holiday, was designed to emphasize the importance of play in keeping kids healthy and happy and enhancing their problem-solving abilities, creativity and motor and social skills.
“For years, Healthy Kids Day has been a terrific showcase for the Y’s commitment to nurturing the potential of kids and their families,” said Lourdes (Lulu) Vargas, senior program director of the South County YMCA. “This year, we will continue to educate and motivate parents and children to stay physically and intellectually active all summer long, in an effort to address the growing trend of summer learning loss and weight gain.”
Vargas added, “We begin our planning for Healthy Kids Day with great momentum. With nearly 2,000 Y’s registered for Healthy Kids Day, we have the ability to impact the lives of an estimated 1.2 million parents and kids.”
This year they are changing up things from past years. The biggest change for this year is they are holding the event outside in the parking lot. The First 5 of Monterey County has sponsored “Wheelie Mobilee”/My Museum, which will be at the event, providing 700 square feet of fun and interactive games and activities for all kids.
Activities by the YMCA staff will include arts and crafts, group games, fitness demos, various quick challenges with prizes, face painting, removable tattoos, wind chime crafting, beading and bubble stations.
“We felt that after four years it was the perfect opportunity to repackage our delivery and change up the atmosphere a bit,” Gonzalez said. “Being outside will provide more room and chance for bigger activities, so we are so excited to run it outside.”
There will be information booths on hand from local groups, including Sun Street Centers, Central Coast Pediatric Dental Group, Libraries, Chamacos, U.S. Army, MAOF – Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, Family to Family – Monterey County Adoptive Services and Resources.
“Through our Healthy Kids Day events, summer programs and ongoing outreach and education, we can truly make a difference for families in communities large and small,” Vargas said. “Our goal is to help increase the awareness to the whole community on all the great resources our community has to offer.”
South County YMCA is at 560 Walker Drive in Soledad.
