According to the Education Development Center, “The first eight years of life are a time of remarkable intellectual, social, and emotional growth. The experiences children have during this time have the power to shape their health and well-being, both positively and negatively, for years to come.” Here at The Wellness Center our mission is to increase the health and wellness of our community and our kids are a part of that community. We believe that when you expose young children to all sorts of health and wellness you are planting in them seeds that will flourish into a healthier future. Because we care about our kids, we developed a Kids FREE Wellness Day that offers them a positive, fun and healthy way to experience wellness. Due to Covid-19, we found ourselves unable to welcome our community kids in 2020 to our festivities. But it was with these restrictions that a NEW Kids FREE Wellness Day was born, this year marks our 6th year and it will be called, “Kids FREE Wellness Day TO GO – 2!”

What is this Kids FREE Wellness Day (KFWD) TO GO-2? It’s a positive, fun and healthy ”to-go” experience for our youth around wellness. Kids ages 5-12, are invited to come to The Wellness Center starting at 10 am on Saturday, June 5th and participate in a “drive-thru” offering. This offering is a “wellness to-go kit,” with a bright safety-colored backpack and t-shirt and a variety of other health and wellness items. While each pack varies, each child will receive some of the following items: UV protective sunglasses, a jump rope, Purell®, sunscreen, a toothbrush, toothpaste, flossers, seeds and planter, a healthy snack and more.

Why are we doing this? First, because we care about our kids and our community. For 39 years we have been offering only the best in Fun, Health and Fitness to our community and we want our kids to know how much we value them! After such a great turnout for KFWD To-Go last year, we will give out 150 kits this Saturday, which is 50 more than last year, because we believe these are items all kids should experience and have access to. Not to mention, when kids have a positive experience it makes health and wellness seem a little less of a chore or boring. If a child gets a free fun backpack with a toy and snack, suddenly that toothbrush might not seem as lame. If they get a few fun flossers for their teeth, they might be more interested in flossing. When you get a free pair of neon sunglasses, you want to show them off. Am I right? Who doesn’t like free stuff?

Who can come? Any child ages 5-12 who are present in the vehicle will be able to get a KFWD To Go kit. We do ask that everyone stay in their vehicle and wear a mask. We will greet you, show you where you line up and hand you the kits right in your car.

Where? We are located at The Wellness Center Fitness Studio at 1734 Crawford Farm Road in Newport. Please follow the cones and arrows when you drive in. This is a TO GO service so there will be no access to the building or bathrooms.

When? We will be starting at 10 am on June 5th. Please respect that we will not be able to serve anyone until we open at 10 am and we will ask that you stay in a single file to respect the other businesses in this location. Please do not come early. We will not be setting up until just about 10 am, so coming early will only slow down our set up. All early cars will be asked to leave and return for the 10 am start.

KFWD is just one day of the year but we believe our children in this community and beyond matter every day of the year. We believe that it is a responsibility of us all to help educate and expose our kids to healthy lifestyle practices. This is something we can all help with! You can help too!

Just a few ways you can help:

  • Buy healthy food and hygiene products for food shelves.
  • Encourage your children, grandchildren, students, etc. to move every day.
  • Support local recreation and sport by donating funds, or time to keep kids active and participating in sports, dance and more.
  • Encourage children to express themselves in different ways from talking – art, journaling, dancing, singing and more.
  • Teach them basic hygiene that doesn’t shame or embarrass them.
  • Allow them to ask questions.

The way our kids are living right now is painting the picture of the future. For the past year, it’s certainly been hard to find balance, but we are hopeful for the coming year ahead. How our kids eat, sleep, practice hygiene, learn, express themselves, play, create and so much more, will have a direct impact on who they will become in the future.

One way to support our youth is to treat them the way we wished we had been treated or to offer them the things we are grateful for that we had. Be supportive. Be kind. Be calm. Know that there is always at least one child who sees you and wants to be just like you! Show them through your example! That’s what we are doing! We want to show them that health and wellness can be fun and it’s for everyone! It doesn’t matter how old you are! So please, consider yourself invited and join us for Kids FREE Wellness Day To-Go 2!