School playground equipment valued at more than $10,000 was recently delivered to elementary schools on Maui, courtesy of a grant from the Alexander & Baldwin Foundation. Schools receiving the equipment were Makawao Elementary, Kahului Elementary, Lihikai Elementary, Paia Elementary, Waihee Elementary, Haiku Elementary, Pukalani Elementary and Wailuku Elementary.
The equipment including more than 600 balls and several hundred hula hoops, jump-ropes, boundary markers and numerous other items will be used exclusively in the Fun 5 program for elementary schoolchildren who participate in the Department of Education's A-Plus afterschool program.
"A&B is pleased to support Maui's children and its schools by providing new fitness equipment for their playgrounds and after-school programs," said A&B Senior Vice President Meredith Ching. "We believe physical activity builds strong bodies and minds in our children and creates healthy habits that can be both fun and lifelong."
Fun 5 is a physical activity and nutrition program managed by Kaho'omiki, a Hawaii-based private nonprofit organization. Afterschool providers who implement the program within A+ on Maui include the state Department of Education, Maui Family YMCA and Kama'aina Kids. More than 3,000 children in 20 elementary schools on Maui are Fun 5 participants.
"This equipment is vital to the continued physical activity of our schoolchildren on Maui and Kauai," said Fun 5 Program Director Paula Adams. "Without this equipment, there is no Fun 5 program because the schools are not able to provide this equipment on their own. The 30-plus minutes of physical activity they receive regularly, along with the nutrition education, helps them develop a healthy lifestyle while having fun."
