MORGANTOWN – Since 2014, Morgantown-based non-profit organization Get Moving Inc. has hosted the Day of Play and Mini Day of Play events.
On Monday afternoon, in collaboration with the Shack Neighborhood House after-school program, Get Moving hosted a Mini Day of Play at Mylan Park Elementary with an estimated 75 children in attendance and participating.
The Day of Play events, organized by Get Moving, offer children in the community and school systems the opportunity to participate in sports and physical activity. Members of various club sports and varsity athletic programs from West Virginia University attended the events, including the one held on Monday. Each participant received a t-shirt signed by the athletes in attendance.
“Once again, Get Moving has the opportunity to promote the importance of physical activity and healthy lifestyles for children in the Mountain State,” Dr. Elizabeth Oppe, founder of Get Moving Inc., said. “We are delighted to work with the Shack Neighborhood House and to partner with other community members. Let’s Go Mountaineers!”
The Day of Play events were an idea conceived by Dr. Oppe in 2013, culminating in the inaugural event in 2014.
“I saw some statistics when it came to child obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and our state was one of the leaders in those things at the time,” Dr. Oppe said. “I remember watching TV one Sunday and seeing Geno Smith, someone a lot of kids in our area look up to, and thinking how it would be great getting to have the WVU athletes join in on the event and help motivate the kids. Not only do the kids love it, but I truly think the athletes take just as much away from the experience.”
Last year, former WVU football and current Pittsburgh Steelers players Zach Frazier and Doug Nester attended the larger Day of Play event in the spring. On Monday, members of the WVU men’s soccer, volleyball, hockey, and lacrosse teams took their time to spend with the kids at Mylan Elementary.
