​RunningBrooke Celebrates 2017 Move2Learn Grant Recipients

From RunningBrooke: Last week, RunningBrooke reinvested $92,000 into the Alexandria community and celebrated with its 2017 grant recipients to kick off the work being done with local nonprofit partners this year.

All fifteen 2017 Move2Learn grant recipients focus on RunningBrooke’s mission to get kids active to spark and enhance their academic performance. Studies show that active kids have better focus, do better academically, have improved behavior, and are more physically fit. This year’s partners provide programs that range in age from preschoolers to high school students, that take place before academics and tutoring, during and after school, and that get kids moving in a variety of ways, from dance to yoga to running.

In total, RunningBrooke will grant $92,000 to 15 Alexandria partners who collectively serve more than 5,000 children. 2017’s partners include: ACPS Bicycling in the Schools (BITS) Program, Alexandria Tutoring Consortium, ALIVE! Child Development Center, Center for Alexandria’s Children, Child & Family Network Centers, Communities in Schools NOVA, Community Lodgings, Friends of Huntley Meadows, Girls on the Run NoVA, Jane Franklin Dance, John Adams Circus Club, Local Motion Project, QuinTango, TC Williams High School Dance Program, and YoKid.

“We were honored that so many groups applied to partner with us in 2017. We received applications from many great organizations with important programs, and our grants committee had a difficult task to select the ones that best align with our mission. We are thrilled to work with this year’s partners. Their programs to get kids active are a good fit for our Move2Learn program. We have a lot of great things coming up this year, including our next Educational Summit in June. We couldn’t be more excited about what we have in store for Alexandria this year and for years to come,” said Brooke Sydnor Curran, RunningBrooke’s Founder and CEO.

Since its inception, RunningBrooke has raised $1 million dollars, built 2 playgrounds in the Taney Ave and Hume Springs neighborhoods, and worked with more than 40 nonprofit partners to provide services to more than 10,000 underserved kids in the City of Alexandria. During this time, Brooke has run one marathon every month to raise awareness and raise funds for RunningBrooke. She has run at least one marathon in every state, one on every continent, and on October 30, 2016 she ran her 100th marathon at the Marine Corps Marathon. That’s 4,400,000 marathon steps!

For more information about the event or RunningBrooke, please visit www.runningbrooke.org.

Photo courtesy of RunningBrooke