Kids America makes updates
Kids America member Wilbur Donley is pictured on the exercise bike that he purchased for the weight room and cardio area. Contributed | Beacon
Bryce Parkhill is pictured working out on one of the new pieces of equipment that Kids America was able to purchase thanks to a grant from the Coshocton Foundation. Josie Sellers | Beacon
COSHOCTON – Kids America recently completed an update of its weight room and cardio equipment thanks to the support of the Coshocton Foundation.
“We are a 501c3 and are always trying to apply for grants to assist us and knew the foundation is very supportive of the community,” said Paige Lane, executive director of Kids America. “We wrote a grant specifically for weight room upgrades and renovations and were awarded $12,826.”
They were notified about the grant in September and right before Thanksgiving finished putting new equipment in place.
“We asked a few of our regular members for suggestions and talked to some weight lifters on our board and the certified trainer we have on staff,” Lane said. “We tried to consult a nice age range and different types of people to find out what they wanted to see in there and what was needed.”
The whole project took about three months from start to finish and Lane is excited to get the word out about their new equipment to help people with weight lifting and cardio workouts.
“Dec. 1 was our 16th anniversary of being opened and some of the equipment we had back there was from when we first started,” she said. “The weight room is the most used area on a daily basis and I can say without a doubt that we now have the best weight room in town.”
Lane was able to add a bonus piece of equipment thanks to a donation from Wilbur Donley.
“We had a Recumbent Bike, but he purchased a second one for us,” she said. “The one we had was the most used piece of equipment on the cardio side. It logged many miles a day.”
Bryce Parkhill’s favorite new piece of weight lifting equipment is the hack squat and leg press machine.
“I’m an avid user of this room,” said Parkhill, who is the activities director at Kids America. “I’m in here six days a week. My major in college was exercise science and I got to do some of the research on this for us and compare different products and warranties. I was ecstatic to see the big boxes all the new equipment came in and to know it’s going to last us a long time.”
You can try out the new equipment at Kids America with the $6 daily pass or call 740-622-6657 to learn more about holiday deals for new members being offered now until Dec. 22. Kids America is located at 1600 Otsego Ave. and can be found online at www.kidsamerica.org.
Category: Business
