Summer Bridge Program in Bolingbrook Working Hard to Keep Kids Healthy

Editor's Note: The following is a release from the Valley View School District.

Dozens of elementary school students are “on the move” this summer, learning how to be fit and stay fit courtesy of a unique community partnership led by DuPage Township and the Community Care Consortium.

Called the Summer Bridge Program, the youths meet for two hours once a week at near to participate in a variety of healthy activities under the supervision of program staff and volunteers from  National Honor Society and Cellular One. Township intern Jackie Smith, a college sophomore and a BHS grad, oversees the free activities.

“We just want our kids to be out here playing and moving,” said program coordinator Toni Greathouse, who also freelances for Bolingbrook Patch. “We’re piggybacking on First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to combat obesity.”

First and second graders get together on Tuesday mornings, while third through fifth graders meet on Thursdays. Roughly 100 youngsters participate in warm-up exercises and activities such as kick ball, soccer, wiffle ball, volleyball, dodge ball, pass the hoop, sport stacking, centipede, wind sprint water balloon relays, sharks and minnows, capture the flag and much more.

Greathouse and  hope the program will generate more interest at home as well.

“We’re asking each of their parents to take their kids outside on the nights they’re not here and walk with them or play with them,” Greathouse said, adding program staff have given each parent a list of neighborhood parks. “There are lots of places in Bolingbrook where they can go. We just want them all to be healthy and have a good conversation and build good relationships.

“This is a small, pilot project this year so we could work out the logistics,” she said. “Next year we hope to open it up to 1,000 kids in Bolingbrook and 1,000 in Romeoville with programs in the home parks of all the Valley View elementary schools.”

Among BHS National Honor Society students who have already volunteered their time for the program are Carlotta Abogado, Alea Johnson, Zennon Hill, Josh Tesoro, Nicole Dassie, Amanda Gnatek, Dominick Kraus, Chira Mitchell, Alexandria Lee, Denise Almaraz, Ashley Kuntz, Malcolm Smith, Marcus Smith, Kalah James, Anna French, Marvin Poloanco, Jorge DelaRosa, Phoebe Mondala, Akua Sampong, Sally Buabung and Jacob McVey. 

In addition to DuPage Township, the Village of Bolingbrook, the Bolingbrook Park District, the Bolingbrook Police Department, VVSD and various Bolingbrook businesses have provided support for this summer’s program.

“Everybody has some piece of involvement in this puzzle,” Greathouse said.