Grants Help County 4-H's Healthy Lifestyles Programs

The Clemson Extension Service and Pickens County 4-H recently received grant funding aimed at helping kids become more active and lead healthier lifestyles.

Janine Sutter, Associate County Extension Agent and 4-H Agent, said United Healthcare has awarded the 4-H program a $1,000 grant for healthy lifestyle classes and projects.

That funding has enabled the creation of a 12-week Fitness Walk and Run program, which kicked off last week.

Gettys Middle School has started a running club, and Sutter spoke to school officials about students participating in the 4-H program.

Participating students will receive a running log to help them keep up with their physical activity, Sutter said.

“They can count miles or footsteps or the amount of time they spend doing it,” she said.

Participants will receive prizes for their activity throughout the 12 week program, as well as at the end.

“They'll be prizes like frisbees or jump ropes, things to keep them active even after the program is over,” Sutter said.

The grant funds will also help out with the Pickens County 4-H 5K Mud Run, slated for April 13 at the B.J. Skelton Career Center.

“It'll help build some of the stuff we'll need for the run,” Sutter said.

Sponsorships are still available at a number of levels.

The Mud Run will also feature a 1K run for children, complete with mini-obstacles.

“If kids still want to come out and get dirty, we'll set up some obstacles off to the side,” Sutter said. “For their age, a 1K is a big deal.”

Sutter said she's also received a mini-grant from Clemson University that will help her teach 100 students about healthy lifestyles.

She's selected Gettys Middle's Running Club and A.R. Lewis Elementary School students, Sutter said.

The grant will allow her to teach those students about proper nutrition and exercise in a fun way.

“We'll play food plate bingo,” Sutter said. “They'll get running logs too. It's 100 more children that will have some idea about what a proper serving size is and why exercise is important. I think it will be fun. ”

The fitness walk/run program isn't just limited to Getty Middle School and A.R. Lewis Elementary, Sutter said.

“If there are kids who are not at those two schools who want to do it, they just have to contact us, and we'll send them a running log,” she said. “The program is targeting children age 5-18, so any children that are that age are welcome to do it.”

Programs like these will help tackle the childhood obesity problem.

“Part of the problem is, convenience foods are cheaper than the healthy options,” Sutter said. “If macaroni and cheese is cheaper than some chicken and a vegetable, a lot of families are going to go to that. And I get that, I'm probably as guilty as anybody about that. It's easy and it's quick and the kids like it. And that's fine now and then, but it can't be an every night thing.

“A lot of families, if their children come in and say, 'Oh, we learned about healthy eating, or I want to eat this,' they'll make more of an effort,” she continued. “If they're hearing it from their kids, a lot of parents are more likely to step up. We want to raise the next generation of people who don't go strictly for the convenience foods and who know about food and healthy lifestyles.”

For more information about these programs or about the Mud Run, call the Clemson Extension Office at 864-878-1394 or email jsutter@clemson.edu