CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — After lots of work, the colorful Fun Fitness Foundation bus is almost ready to be put to use.
When completed, the refurbished school bus will have different built-in exercise games and equipment for kids to use.
“Our goal is to pull up, provide some fun fitness and just let the children have a good time on this bus,” said Traci Phillips, the executive director of the foundation.
Phillips says the bus will help incorporate fitness into different current programs in the community, from financial literacy to creative arts.
“Our organization was formed because West Virginia is number one in adult obesity and number two in childhood obesity, so it’s very important for us to input fitness into all facets of life for youth,” she said.
“Especially during COVID-19 when they’re in front of the screens all of the time, why not take part in this program where you can learn something and get a little bit of physical activity too?”
The foundation currently offers a fitness challenge, a creative arts program, and a financial literacy workshop where up to 15 kids can participate in a fitness obstacle challenge after completing four courses online.
They’ll work in teams in the obstacle challenge and incorporate what they learned.
Each team will have a chance to win up to $500 to put towards savings, says Mavery Davis, a Charleston-area accountant involved in the financial literacy workshop.
“It hit me that I wasn’t taught this stuff when I was younger,” he said.
Davis says the workshop teaches kids about wants versus needs, budgeting and setting goals – especially in these times.
“The average family doesn’t have $400 to cover an emergency,” he said.
“I think a lot of Americans were caught off guard nationally but also locally too and a lot of it stems just from good financial training that most of us never had.”
All of the programs are free and made possible by a grant by the state’s Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs.
Any child in West Virginia is welcome to participate.
Students can register here for the financial literacy boot camp after completing the online courses.
