Fort Belvoir, Va. (May 30, 2014) - More than 1,000 middle school students -- including hundreds of military children connected to Fort Belvoir -- joined celebrities in dancing for fitness, May 21, during the 4th Annual "Move Your Body" celebration at Walt Whitman Middle School.
The event, hosted by WAT-AAH! Foundation, was held in support of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative. This year, Walt Whitman Middle School was selected as the main hub for the event, in partnership with Fit Kids, to lead more than 250,000 students from 600 schools across the nation in choreographed dance routines in an effort to end childhood obesity, according to a WAH-AAH! Foundation press release.
WWMS was selected because of its high military population, said Megan O'Day, Fort Belvoir School Liaison Officer.
The students practiced a workout dance routine to singer Beyonce's "Move Your Body" video in previous weeks, and showed off their moves during the event.
"I think it's really cool that Michelle Obama is trying to get us out here and get moving and get kids fit," said Army child Cole Kochanowski, 13.
Another Army child, Hybiah Bynum, 13, said it was nice to do something different to get fit.
"It's a great campaign," she said. "Sometimes we're just playing videogames. You need to stay active."
Military students and their Families were invited to a special meet and greet prior to the event where they met celebrities like Soulja Boy, DJ Alladin from WPGC 95.5, the McClain Sisters (China McClain is also an actress on Disney Channel's A.N.T. Farm), the bands S.W.A.G. and We Are Toonz, and Drake Bell, from Nickelodeon's Drake and Josh show, who provided a "Move Your Body" concert during the event.
They also met with military leaders including U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir Commander Col. Gregory D. Gadson, who attended the concert to show his support.
"I think it's really kind of a natural extension of military culture, to be active and to be fit," he said.
"It's great to see these young kids excited," Gadson added. "They're excited about moving."
Several military parents also attended and brought their other children to enjoy the concert and meet the special guests.
"I think it's a really big honor for them to have been selected among all of the different schools that could have been chosen," said Rebecca Burgos, a military spouse who has an eighth-grade son at WWMS. "It was a lot of fun to be able to meet the colonel and meet all the different artists that are here today, to have the opportunity to take pictures, but more so than anything else, just to see my son's face every time that he got to stand beside somebody and take a picture."
She said it was refreshing to see a program that helps kids become more active.
"I think that nowadays, everybody is so geared toward technology and so few students want to go outside and play. I remember growing up, and that's all we did," Burgos said. "I love the initiative and I think that it's important to have students to move around and to move their bodies and have fun while they're doing it."
Air Force Maj. Raymond Ruscoe, Headquarters Air Force Staff, Pentagon, made a point to attend with all four of his children.
"I actually have two at Whitman and two at Fort Belvoir Elementary. All four of them are here today," he said. "It was great to connect with the children and show them that some of their idols are also into the very things that are important in society. As a Family, we're into fitness and this is just a great opportunity to continue that."
For more information on the "Move Your Body" celebration, visit www.bevnet.com/news/2014/wat-aah-announces-move-your-body-event.
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