Healthy Kids, Healthy Schools
Less than one-quarter (24%) of children 6 to 17 years of age participate in 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Recess is being shortened and kids aren’t moving as much as the should, and if we want a generation of healthy kids, we need to do something about that. Enter Kellie Kalberer, a woman who is on a mission to make moving fun! Kellie is the owner of Fun Run 101, a company that leads schools in planning, organizing and executing their own volunteer-based fun run.
Kellie has a remarkable journey. She is an avid runner and mom to three teenagers. She graduated from the University of Utah with a major in meteorology and a minor in math, and worked for the National Weather Service in the Scientific Services division. She met and married an Air Force pilot and moved around the world. She got her MBA from the University of South Carolina while stationed there until military life brought her to Wisconsin. As her oldest started school, she discovered a disconnect in the fundraising processes at schools: not enough money was being raised and retained at schools and kids weren't involved in the process. From that, Fun Run 101 was born - an exercise-aware company that makes sure all students get to participate, regardless of whether or not they fund raise, and schools typically keep upwards of 90% of funds raised.
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In this Episode of The Rooted Family Podcast…
In my head, I thought, there has to be a better way. I got involved with the school's parent group and started going to meetings and just listened for awhile, and the next spring I opened my big mouth and said, “Hey, can I try something different instead of selling entertainment books?” (06:36)
I like to think of Fun Run 101 events as a triple win. It's a win for schools who typically retain over 90% of the fundraising dollars earned. Most fundraisers bring in a certain amount of money but only keep 40 to 60% of those funds. So 90% is way high up there on the list. Second is a win for parents who aren't trying to push products on family and friends, and this takes the work off of their shoulders. And third, it's a win for the students themselves who are pushing themselves and realizing what they are capable of when they may have never thought that they could accomplish something like a 20 minute run. (11:55)
I think it's always a moving target when you're talking about about balancing family and business and all of the other things that we’re involved in in our community. (16:02)
I found myself at a point several years ago where I was doing everything. I was running a business. I was the president of the parent group. I was the girl scout leader. I was volunteering in other areas, driving kids everywhere. And I never knew what hat was on and when, and I had an opportunity to step away from everything, which I did. (17:12)
I keep just a little room on my plate because I'm always excited to see what life's going to bring next and I want to be able to key in when the right opportunities do come along. (18:01)
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