Cranberry Township YMCA champions youth wellness with Healthy Kids Day
CRANBERRY TWP — Families flocked to the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA on Saturday, May 3, to celebrate Healthy Kids Day, a national initiative that promotes active play, healthy habits and wholesome entertainment.
“As a parent, the energy burn is invaluable,” said Harry Strasburger, a YMCA member who regularly brings his young and son and daughter to the YMCA. “Even if it’s not a lifestyle thing, just having days like today and a little while to burn some energy helps a parent save energy for bigger battles later on.”
Each year, thousands of YMCAs nationwide host special events to mark the day, which was recognized this year on April 26.
The Cranberry Township YMCA postponed its Healthy Kids Day day to better accommodate its schedule, according to its youth and family director, Maria DiMartin.
While the threat of inclement weather forced the event inside, it was still a productive and afternoon for hundreds of people, DiMartin said.
“As a YMCA, our mission is to serve the community,” she said. “Being able to host these events and have the participation from local organizations and vendors that want to come push that mission as well is incredibly important.
“We’re just getting the word out to the community to say, ‘Hey, we’re here and we have all these things for you to do and participate in.’”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, children ages 6 to 17 require at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Since opening in 2006, the Cranberry Township YMCA has grown, offering families a wide range of opportunities to help their children meet that exercise goal.
“The Y is very important to us,” said Lauren Jacisin, who was handing out stickers and coloring pages to children with her two daughters. “I have four kids so it’s great being able to work out and have a healthy lifestyle balance. All of the programs they do here to support the kids are just amazing and it gives them a sense of community and friends outside of just the normal school day.”
The event featured a Scholastic Book Fair, complimentary face painting, a Snoopy meet-and-greet and a chance to try out different sports and go through an inflatable obstacle course.
It also brought out community vendors like Rose’s Garden Club, Rhodes Orthodontics, Girl Scouts of Western PA, Acrisure Stadium and Ivy Rehab and Experience Butler County.
