All Youth Healthy & Active

Play Equity to Advance Mental Health (sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation)

Other:: Title 1 schools in the L.A. area

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

Currently, 60% of youth in the U.S. do not get the recommended amount of physical activity per day. A staggering 80% of youth in California aren't meeting this need; we are on a mission to move that needle. More youth than ever are currently suffering from an emotional disturbance or addictive disorder; we know that a program like ours greatly improves mental health as well as physical health and other aspects of youths' lives. Oftentimes, health programs are inequitable due to having an associated cost; we provide our program free of charge and intentionally target Title 1/high needs schools to make whole health more equitable and accessible for long-term positive effects on youths lives.

This grant will directly support implementing our program in specific areas/schools that do not have the budget or resources currently available for a program like this, therefore making health more accessible and equitable. Our program helps to break down barriers to access and education not only for physical health but also for mental, socio-emotional, academic and other areas of youths lives. Increase in screen time and increase in mental health disorders are at all-time highs, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic, and by coming in and implementing our program we are directly going to be able to intervene and put these youth on a path towards a bright future. We are able to offer supplies such as tablets, technology support, incentive items such as running shoes from our partner Brooks Running, and other things that so many youth would not otherwise have access to. Through research, we have found that positive reinforcement and celebrating achievements is hugely impactful on youth as they often do not get the praise deserved for a job well done; we activate for milestone and finisher celebrations to provide this positive reinforcement and encouragement to help make positive effects be long-lasting.

LA County will be different because we are breaking down barriers and making health more accessible for many youth that are not currently able to prioritize their whole health due to the many hurdles they face. Some of these hurdles include financial restraints, time restraints, and simply not being exposed to positive health programming. Studies show that academic performance is enhanced when students start to prioritize their health through consistent movement, and they pass the positive effects on to their family members at home. Oftentimes, we see parents, siblings, and extended family members getting more involved in their communities and spending more time outdoors after their youth enroll in our program. LA will benefit by having more families engaged with the community and showing up for events, volunteering, and enjoying public spaces more often- all of which are indicators of a healthier lifestyle.

We measure success in many ways at Marathon Kids, such as our finisher survey that asks around 20 questions to participating coaches and parents of youth. These questions ask about particular barriers faced, what they enjoyed/did not enjoy about the program, how it effected other areas of their lives, how we can improve our implementation, etc. In 2020 our MK Connect Tech app was developed, which measures what schools we serve, if they are classified Title 1 or on a free/reduced lunch program, # of youth served, # miles logged for individuals/schools, retention rate, gender, and age. These statistics are helpful when we are going in to recruit for new schools, working with existing schools, and identifying gaps to potentially fill. For this project, we will target and recruit 6 new Title 1 schools in Los Angeles for year 1, in which we will serve approximately 4500 new youth. We will activate in at least 2 community events in which we will host families of enrolled students.