So Fresh Market Presents

South Bay Kids Walk Across America

Location: So Fresh Market
Registration/Warm Up: 9:30-11am
Walk Start: Ongoing, beginning at 9:45am

The Challenge

So Fresh Market at Del Amo Fashion Center is launching South Bay Kids Walk Across America as a weekly walking and fitness challenge, encompassing a virtual walk across 50 states in 50 weeks. The challenge is designed as a fun, educational experience, aimed at improving the overall health and fitness of children in our South Bay community.

South Bay Kids Walk Across America will host a weekly challenge, utilizing the Del Amo Fashion Center and So Fresh Market as the primary location for a variety of fitness walks and activities. Each week, a particular U.S. state will be highlighted as the focus of a 30-45 minute walking course through the mall. This walk will also represent a virtual walk across the selected state and provide a fun learning opportunity for participants to gain some fun facts and information about each of our 50 U.S. states.

Walking Goals

1. Get kids excited about improving their overall health and fitness and provide a fun way to learn about our 50 U.S. states.
2. Help kids to form healthy habits at an early age that encourage regular exercise to stay physically fit.
3. Encourage kids to "spread the word" and lead the challenge in creating a community wide fitness movement that promotes a healthy community, region and nation.

Weekly Walks Across America

1. Weekly Walk. Each walk would take place on Saturday mornings, starting at So Fresh Market with registration and optional warm-up routine.
2. Participants. Children and adults of all ages are invited to participate, with the primary focus on K-5 up to Middle School.
3. Passport. Each participant will receive a passport or travel log to document his or her walk across America, and receive a stamp or sticker to be placed inside at the completion of each walk.
4. Walking Teams. Informal walking teams will be put together as participants arrive, led by a community volunteer to begin their virtual walk across America! We encourage the whole family to walk. (Special consideration will be made for any special needs participants to help them accomplish their Walk Across America challenge.)
5. U.S. State of the Week Educational Focus. Each week, the campaign will focus on a particular state to host its virtual walk around the mall. Each weekly walk will include a brief stop at 4 or 5 designated stations where participants would receive a couple of fun fact questions promoting the particular state of the week. We will be inviting schools and organizations to adopt a state, and asking them to help us design the kiosk with "Fun Fact" data they have gathered, to be presented each week.
6. So Fresh Celebration! Upon the completion of each weekly walk, participants will receive a special certificate commemorating the featured "State of the Week", with the goal of participating in all 50 weeks and collecting certificates for all 50 states. Participants may join the South Bay Walk Across America Campaign at any time.
7. Refuel! So Fresh will offer light refreshments (water and fruit) to end each walk.
8. Wellness & Nutrition Spotlight. Throughout the day, fun games and activities will be featured in our Creative Corner Kids that emphasize a specific wellness or nutrition topic.
9. Website Campaign Tracker. Participating groups will have the opportunity to track their progress across the U.S. online and receive updates on campaign activities, through a special section on the So Fresh Market website.

Community Sponsors -- Come Walk With Us!

Community Sponsors -- Come Walk With Us! So Fresh Market would like to invite community businesses and organizations to join us as community sponsors for the South Bay Kids Walk Across America Challenge. Here are some ways that your sponsorship will help offer this community an increased variety of motivating, educational weekend walks and fitness activities that can make a significant difference in growing fit, healthier kids!

1. Campaign Endorsement. Sponsors can help promote the important message of getting and staying fit to South Bay kids and their parents by providing campaign funding, products and services. This will also promote your company's message in a variety of creative ways, building goodwill and brand recognition among this loyal and growing market.
2. Curriculum Enhancement/Team project. Schools, organizations and businesses are invited to adopt a "State of the Week" focus. You can create a Fun Facts sheet on the adopted state, along with several posters to support the Fun Fact Stations. So Fresh will provide "Fun Fact" guidelines, which can include history, geography and liberal arts topics. Groups can be as creative as they have time and energy to create a fun learning environment.
3. Volunteer/Student Service Hours. We will need volunteers to help with weekly registration, fitness warm-up exercises, leading walks around the mall and through our Fun Fact stations, and helping out with wellness and nutrition activities conducted throughout the day.
4. Partnership Links. Share your connections with us! The campaign welcomes the synergy of community organizations, businesses and individuals who can help us to inspire and impact more and more kids to walk, get regular exercise, eat right and to make healthy lifestyle choices! Educators, volunteers, funding and a host of in-kind resources are needed including: fitness training, educational resources, health and nutrition, volunteers and media support to support this campaign.

Contact Information

For more information about Kids Walk Across America, please contact:
Vicki Wong: vicki@kidswalk.org
Jackie Tsujimoto: jackie@kidswalk.org