On Wednesday, April 24, UNMC/NHS Community Partnership and the UNMC/NHS Employee Diversity Network will co-sponsor a presentation of performances by children from Omaha Public Schools. The event will be from noon to 1 p.m., in the grassy area east of the link between NHS Clarkson Hospital and UNMC. 
The program will publicize the May 11 city wide ConAgra Foods “Race for the Kids” — a benefit race for All Our Kids Foundation, Inc. — on the ConAgra Foods campus. Ward Chambers, M.D., executive director of UNMC/NHS Community Partnership, is a member of the board of directors for the All Our Kids Foundation, Inc.
The campus is invited to watch as many as 50 OPS students, including a drum and drill team, perform dance routines and double-Dutch jump rope exhibitions. UNMC/NHS will sponsor a bus to travel to five elementary schools to pick up the children — each group representing their school’s gym class. UNMC/NHS will provide them with sack lunches and pay the registration entry fee so each child may enter the Race for the Kids. In addition, emergency room staff from NHS Clarkson and University Hospitals will provide a basic first aid station during the race day activities.
Race for the Kids is a community effort to raise awareness about the need for physical activity among youths. The race is a non-competitive one-mile walk/run in which fourth- through 12th-graders are the primary participants. The goal of the race is to encourage young people to become more physically active. Health professionals and physical education instructors are concerned about a growing epidemic of physical inactivity among our nation’s youth.
“As a mentoring organization, All Our Kids helps young people build self-confidence, academic skills and good decision-making skills,” said Julie Hefflinger, President of All Our Kids, Inc. “We also recognize that physical activity is important to the well-being of children.” Lack of physical activity may contribute to problems in learning, self-esteem and a lifetime of health risks.
The connection with ConAgra Foods is a natural. ConAgra Foods has made a corporate pledge to kids through an initiative called Feeding Children Better. UNMC/NHS Community Partnership is affiliated with ConAgra Foods through an initiative that develops health outreach services to underserved employees of some ConAgra Foods plants. The Feeding Children Better program provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in need at Kids Cafes across America, including two cafes here in Omaha.
“ConAgra Foods’ Race for the Kids is an extension of our commitment to the health and physical well-being of our nation’s children,” says Tim McMahon, senior vice-president of marketing and communications for ConAgra Foods. “We are also very supportive of the services provided to at-risk youth by All Our Kids through its long-term mentoring program.”
The race is being promoted through schools in the Omaha area. Fourth- through 12th-graders are encouraged to participate, but adults and younger family members also may enter. Entry fees are $5 per student in grades 4-12 and $10 per adult. Younger children can walk or run for free with a paying entrant.
All registered children will receive Race for the Kids T-shirts, water bottles and other items. Nebraska athletes from local colleges and universities also will walk with the students and run in various “heats” among the children. College and high school mascots will join a 10-yard mascot dash to kick off the race day activities. Twenty bikes will be given as prizes to students selected in a drawing. (To encourage attendance, only students who are present will be eligible to win prizes.) ConAgra Foods will provide refreshments after the race.
Money raised by the race will be used to support and expand All Our Kids’ mentoring program. All Our Kids mentors and staff currently serve 125 students from middle school through college.
“We know that the face of Nebraska is changing,” Hefflinger said. “There is a growing need for mentors in the south Omaha community. To serve that community and others into the future, funds raised by the race will support the current mentoring program, and a portion will go toward a Mentoring Endowment Fund to be established in 2003.”