Sat 6/27 @ 7:30AM
Long-time institution Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland is hosting their 2015 Race of Kids & Wellness Festival to support 8000 at-rick Cleveland youth. This family-oriented event at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo begins at 7:30AM with registration and ends when the zoo opens, but you can stay all day.
Sponsored by Medical Mutual and the Cleveland Clinic, the festival includes music, arts and crafts, a balloon clown and fun activities for the entire family. Sign up your family of up to four participants for $50 and get race shirts to wear while you participate in a 5k Race or one-mile walk. Our set up a workplace, church, or neighborhood team. To register, go to BoysGirlsClubsofClevelan/2015raceforkids.
Back in 1860, the Boys Club of Hartford, Connecticut started making a difference in the life of young people, causing the movement to spread throughout the country. In Cleveland, the movement began in Slavic Village in 1954 when Republic Steel and Cliffs Natural Resources opened a Boys Club on Broadway. The second club opened in the Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood in 1972. Girls began joining the organization that same year. The Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland now has eight neighbourhood clubs and has expanded to sites within the Cleveland Public School System.
The mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland is “to inspire and enable young people who need us most to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, caring citizens.” The organization accomplishes that goal by offering programming for children and teens that’s fun and engaging. By focusing on academic success, character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles, the programming recognizes that cultivation of a well-rounded person is tantamount to success and happiness.
Of course, a day at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, especially if the entire family participates, is always fun. After the family does its good deed for the day (and this is an opportunity to talk about what the Boys & Girls Clubs do and how they help underprivileged young people), the family can show off their shirts while eating ice cream and watching the flamingos and lionesses, admire colourful poison frogs in the rainforest, and make faces at the baboons.
All proceeds from the race benefit the local organization. In addition to the $50 family registration, indiviudals can register for the 5K race for $30 and for the 1-mile walk for $20. Pre-registration and packet pickup happen on Fri 6/26.
[Written by Claudia Taller]3900 Wildlife Way, Cleveland, OH 44109-3132