$10,000 AT &T match to community’s $10,000 donations
Marathon Kids®
Support Mayor Will Wynn’s Austin Marathon Run
Press Conference
Friday, Feb 16, 11:30 a.m.
AT &T Austin Marathon Expo
Palmer Auditorium
Austin Mayor Will Wynn
Runner’s World Editor David Willey
AT&T Austin Marathon Director John Conley
Children from Marathon Kids
Challenge Austin community to give $10,000
To support our town’s Marathon Kids program for K-5th graders
400 donations of $26.20! All it takes!
www.MarathonKids.com
Austin, Texas—AT&T Texas, sponsor of the AT&T Austin Marathon, is challenging Austin area runners, families and businesses to consider donating $26.20 or more to support the free, six month Marathon Kids running/walking, nutrition and schoolyard gardening program for 45,000 Austin K-5th graders.
AT&T will match every dollar up to $10,000. This will help meet the $26,200 goal of Mayor Wynn’s Austin Marathon 26.2 mile run for Marathon Kids.
Mayor Wynn says, “Both of my daughters are Marathon Kids. I’ve seen and experienced this great program firsthand. I know it to be the most effective children’s fitness and nutrition program in the country. I want my marathon run to help keep this free program available to kids in Austin.”
"AT&T is delighted to join Mayor Wynn in providing our friends and neighbors with a meaningful way to support Marathon Kids and his goal of improving the health and fitness of Austin's children," said Adrian Cardwell, Austin Market Manager for AT&T. "This donation continues our commitment to supporting fitness initiatives that benefit the entire community."
Donations can be made online at www.MarathonKids.com See “Mayor’s Run”. Marathon Kids targets Hispanic, African American children who are most vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes. The goal is to move children from sedentary lives to non-sedentary lives. Donations can also be made by “snail mail” to
Marathon Kids
P.O. Box 5501
Austin, TX 78763
Local K-5th children color in their Marathon Kids Running Log©, as they incrementally run 26.2 miles over six months. They also are challenged to eat 5-a-day fruits and veggies for 26.2 days of every month, coloring in their Marathon Kids Fuel Log©. Marathon Kids recently received “Runners World Hero of Year Award” as well as “Saucony Run for Good” award. The national non-profit is headquartered in Austin. It is also in Dallas, Houston, Texas Rio Grande Valley, Los Angeles. The free program serves over 100,000 K-5th graders.
Marathon Kids will also have a booth at the Austin Marathon Expo, running Friday through Saturday, where people can pick up and turn in pre-printed donation envelopes.
Austin Marathon Kids Final Mile Medal Celebration is Saturday, February 24 at Austin ISD’s Burger Stadium at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. There are 45,000 Austin area children registered in the free program. Austin area has an 83% completion rate. The program is run by Physical Educators at public and private schools as well as by home-schooling parents. All children can be Marathon Kids: fast/slow, rich/poor, overweight/slender, blind/sighted, deaf/hearing.
Presenting sponsor of Marathon Kids in Austin is Whole Foods Market. Supporting sponsor is RunTex. Foundations who help to keep Marathon Kids free are The Moody Foundation, The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, The Meadows Foundation and The Topfer Foundation. This year Austin Marathon Kids had to cap the Austin program at 45,000 K-5th graders. The non-profit has offered the free program for ten years in Austin, where it was birthed as a grassroots initiative.
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Our Mission: Marathon Kids® is a free, endurance building running/walking/nutrition and gardening program for K-5th graders. We build joyful community around children and are quickly accepted into public, private and home schools as a free, innovative celebratory fitness program, resonating with the child…and with the child’s family. The child develops the love and habit of moving through space and carries forward the power of muscular, nutritional and psychological well being.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. is a premier communications holding company in the United States and around the world, with operating subsidiaries providing services under the AT&T brand. AT&T is the recognized world leader in providing IP-based communications services to businesses and the U.S. leader in providing wireless, high speed Internet access, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising through its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding video entertainment offerings to include such next-generation television services as AT&T U-verseSM TV. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at www.att.com.
www.MarathonKids.com
www.WholeFoodsMarket.com
www.RunTex.com
www.ATT.com
