Coca-Cola has signed former Olympic gold medalist and speedskater Bonnie Blair as its newest spokesperson to kick off its 2006 Live It! program to help encourage more schools to sign up for the initiative.
The health and fitness program is designed to encourage physical activity and provide nutrition information to middle school students.
On Monday, Blair was the star at an event at Wolman Rink in Central Park in New York City where she taught kids from Public School 260 how to ice skate. Each kid got to take home a pair of skates, said Rand Elliott, a Coca-Cola spokesperson.
“Bonnie’s message is to let kids know that you don’t have to be an athlete to stay active, just find something that you love and do it every day,” she said.
As schools sign on to the program, on-site events are planned to promote Live It!
Blair is among a number of athletes that have helped Coke promote the program. Last year, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong kicked off the initiative.
Live It!, which debuted last spring, incorporates two programs already underway: Step with It, which launched in 2002 to encourage kids to take at least 10,000 steps a day and Fit it In, a nutrition information component, which debuted last year.
The program includes posters for cafeterias and schools, personal Stepometers with activity guides and activity cards that suggest fun ways to take 10,000 steps each day. Students also receive activity cards with food tips to help choose meals and snacks based on the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines. The program is expected to reach 2 million 4th through 8th graders by the end of the year, Coca-Cola said.
The initiative was developed in concert with The President’s Challenge, a program of The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the School Nutrition Association and the National Association for Sport & Physical Education.
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