PLEASE  RELEASE  IMMEDIATELY

Karen Brooks

Shoe Fund Coordinator                                                      reviewed 1 revision

(707)822-7736

fax (707)822-3085

kbrooks61@gmail.com

01/26/10

 

FREE YOUTH RUNNING SHOES

 

Arcata, CA -- Six Rivers Running Club (SRRC) is once again providing free running shoes to area youth participating in their school’s running program. Thanks to the generosity of local businesses more shoes will be given out this year! SRRC has received a $1,500 gift from Eureka Natural Foods’ 2009 Waterfront Run and a $2,000 grant from the North Coast Co-Op’s Cooperative Community Fund (CCF).

 

In this day and age of childhood obesity, the community will be encouraged to know that many schools have running programs. It could take the form of an after school enrichment program, a school running club, or an organized track program. SRRC saw a need to outfit young bodies with good running shoes and partnered with Eureka Natural Foods several years ago, with the store contributing $6,000 over the past few years.

 

The goal of the Shoe Fund is to motivate third through eighth grade students to participate in their school’s running program by giving away new running shoes. Teachers and coaches involved in running programs have been notified about the scholarships and received the applications earlier this month. The application process is very easy but it must be signed by a parent and faxed by the deadline on Monday, February 8th. Applications can be downloaded off SRRC’s website at www.6rrc.com.

 

Eureka Natural Foods’ has a passion for wellness and owner, Rick Littlefield, has a goal for kids to be healthy through good nutrition and fitness. “We are committed to funding the running shoe scholarships and challenge other organizations to join us as we all work to get kids running,” comments Littlefield. “Last year they gave away 66 pairs of shoes and can give away more shoes if the fund increases,” he adds.

 

The running club will review and process the scholarships. The recipient’s name will be given to the Jogg’N Shoppe and the student runner will be directed to the store to be fitted for their FREE new shoes. The Jogg’N Shoppe has a solid selection of popular running shoes for the runners to choose from. After elementary runners have received their shoes then high school runners will be eligible to apply for scholarships until the fund is exhausted for 2010.

 

“The annual Foggy Bottom Milk Run and Walk as well as Field and Track is coming up, so it’s a good time of the year for kids to use their new running shoes,” comments Gary Timek, President of SRRC. “A lot of the kids getting new shoes will be running for their school team in the 2-mile Ferndale event on March 14th,” he adds. The first step is to fill out and fax the application by the February 8th deadline. For additional information contact the Shoe Fund Coordinator, Karen Brooks at (707)822-7736.