VA Healthy Youth Day

The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth’s fourth annual Virginia Healthy Youth Day celebration was held in Richmond on Jan. 17, 2013, at the Richmond Marriot. More than 5,600 children in schools across Virginia celebrate Virginia Healthy Youth Day, which promotes healthy lifestyles for Virginia youth.

First Lady of Virginia Maureen McDonnell was the keynote speaker at the Richmond event at the Richmond Marriott. More than 400 children from Chesterfield County Public Schools and Richmond Public Schools gathered in the Richmond Marriott's Grand Ballroom to exercise with fitness specialists from the Richmond YMCA. Mascots from the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Richmond Kickers and Virginia Commonwealth University  were on hand to exercise alongside the children. Virginia Healthy Youth Day 2013 at the Richmond Marriott also featured a special performance by Mad Science of Central Virginia! Dignitaries in attendance included Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Bill Hazel. More than 20 satellite Virginia Healthy Youth events were held across the Commonwealth on the same day, with more than 5,600 children across Virginia, from Bristol to Fairfax County and the Northern Neck, celebrating Virginia Healthy Youth Day.

Established by a Virginia General Assembly resolution, Virginia Healthy Youth Day is held every January by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) and promotes healthy lifestyles for Virginia’s children, including eating right, exercising and not using tobacco products. VFHY sought to create Virginia Healthy Youth Day in order to remind children and adults that exercise and healthy eating are important year-round, even when it's cold outside.

2013 VFHY Virginia Healthy Youth Day Celebrations: