As the days warm up and youngsters are out of school, elementary students in the Kent School District will be encouraged to get outside, to learn, to eat right and to stay healthy in a grass roots effort to combat childhood obesity.

This year the Cruzin’ Passport program, which is now offered to students in the district who live in Kent and Covington in kindergarten through sixth grade, is in its third summer, according to Pam Kramer.

Kramer heads up the Coalition for a Healthy Community, which was formed to help local children make lifelong changes now to form healthy habits. She said that more than 120 businesses are participating in the program that kicked off June 1 and will run through Aug. 31.

“Our mission was to combat childhood obesity,” Kramer said. “We want to gather the community and work on this together. The passport definitely meets that mission. As a community, as a school district, as a city government, in Kent and Covington to help the kids to just be healthier.”

There are three categories in the passport, a book that kids can get stamped at various business, that cover healthy activities, learning about lifestyle choices and eating right.

Some businesses serve as a learning site where youngsters can get a stamp after picking up information about healthy choices while participating restaurants in Kent and Covington have special Cruzin’ Passport menus to choose from while the passport itself has a calendar of events like hikes and free swim time at the Covington Aquatic Center.

Some new aspects to the program this year, including combining Kent and Covington into one passport, are some new prizes, new activities and plenty of new locations to get stamps.

This year, the school that turns in the highest percentage of passports will receive $1,000, something the coalition did last year.

“That’s given to us by a company called Univar,” Kramer said. “That $1,000 is intended to go toward P.E. equipment, playground equipment or curriculum, but, we’re asking that it go toward nutrition education.”

This year there are also second and third prizes for schools with the second place school getting $750 and third place getting floor hockey kits donated by the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team.

“I adore the fact that businesses in the community are getting so into this,” Kramer said. “As much as we can to do make their lives healthier now it not going to just help them but their families and their community.”

There is a kick off event planned in Covington for Saturday, June 19, with the planning and organization led by the city of Covington.

The fun starts at 10 a.m. in the Kohl’s parking lot with a fun run and walk. Kramer added families should be there by 9:30 to make sure they are registered for the fun run and walk.

“Part of our kickoff includes a bike rodeo, which the fire department runs, so, kids are also encouraged to bring their bikes,” Kramer said. “We will have several booths, a big bouncy toy, demonstrators, free popcorn and remember to bring your passports.”

During the course of the summer there will be a variety of free events, all of which are listed in the passport or on the program’s website, www.cruzinpassport.com.

Kramer pointed out a free cooking class will be offered on July 16 at Covington MultiCare as part of the Covington Days Festival and she encourages anyone interested to sign up online for that because space is limited.

There will be free swimming days at Covington Aquatic Center and a free hike at Soos Creek on Aug. 5 among other things.

Youths who participate are also being asked to fill out a survey before and after the program for which they’ll get an “extra special stamp” and a special prize.

“The more data we can get on how we’re changing kids’ lives then we can potentially do more with the passport program in the future,” Kramer said. “(That data) allows us to apply for grants.”

During Covington Days families can also participate in a 5,000 meters/10K walk on July 17 that starts at Kentwood High. It costs $10 for children to register with the fee covering a T-shirt and a goody bag.

Students must get five stamps in their passports for it to count toward their school total and must turn in their passports to their school by Sept. 10.

Kramer said that the passport allows everyone in the community to work together to provide youths a consistent message about making healthy choices to eat right, be active and continually learn about the importance of those good choices.

“If everyone serves the same message, then we’re on the right track,” Kramer said. “This is not a short term fix. We want it to be a long term change in their life and we want it to be a consistent message.”