ING today announced Corbin Intermediate School (Corbin, Kentucky;Stacie Moses stacie.moses@corbin.kyschools.us) and Gutermuth Elementary School (Louisville, Kentucky; Eric W. Wright eric.wright@jefferson.kyschools.us) as two of 50 recipients of a $2,000 grant to help students combat childhood obesity. Through its ING Run For Something Better School Awards Program, financial services leader ING, in partnership with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), is helping to introduce fifth- through eighth-grade students across the country to the benefits of running through school-based running programs. Both schools will receive $2,000 in funding to support its new ING Run For Something Better program, offering students a minimum of an eight-week running program that will conclude with a culminating running event in celebration of the students’ achievements. NASPE has developed unique running lesson plans, based on the National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE, 2004), and specifically targeted for fifth- through eighth-grade students. These activity plans, coupled with other program materials such as distance logs and a running journal, will aid in the development of running skills and preparation for a culminating running event. 

     Grant awards were available in all states to public elementary or middle schools for running programs that targeted fifth- through eighth-grade students. Over 300 schools applied for the ING/NASPE School Awards Program. A NASPE review board consisting of 100 teachers and education administrators reviewed all applications.