Manatee kids win prizes at Junior League’s ‘Get Your Fit On’

A huge payback for the hours she had spent volunteering with Junior League of Manatee County for the past four years came to Kelli Chidester last year during a Junior League event at McKechnie Field called “Get Your Fit On.”

“You could tell that some of the kids don’t get that sort of entertainment value in their daily lives,” said Chidester, who has a 5-year-old daughter.

“You could see in their faces how excited they were to be there,” Chidester added. “They were running around non-stop, burning up all of their energy, knowing at the end they had a chance for tons of awesome prizes.”

Chidester, who is the community council vice president for Junior League of Manatee County, says she won’t miss this year’s free “Get Your Fit On,” which is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 12 at McKechnie Field, 1611 Ninth St. W., Bradenton.

The event is part of the Junior League’s childhood obesity and nutrition education initiative, called “Kids in the Kitchen,” Chidester said.

Manatee County elementary and middle school-age students and their families will learn about nutrition, fitness and be introduced to all sorts of sports, she added.

Volunteers will set up stations at the baseball park and will show children how to throw a football, hit a baseball and tennis ball, shoot a basketball and spike a volleyball and do other sports, Chidester said.

“The real exciting part of the event for the kids is, if they have gone through all the stations, they get their sheets stamped and they can enter into a raffle,” Chidester added. “They have a chance to win sports packages including bats and gloves, a basketball hoop, scooters, skateboards, roller blades and at least five bicycles and helmets.”

The Junior League, whose mission is to provide a better community and improve the lives of women and children, especially hopes to attract low income families to the event, Chidester said.

“We want to promote healthy eating and get kids active,” Chidester said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Manatee kids win prizes at Junior League’s ‘Get Your Fit On’."