Created: 3/24/2009 10:41:32 AM 
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- What school doesn't need extra money right now?
And what school doesn't have children who need to lose weight and get fit?
Hogan-Spring Glen has a clever idea.
Teachers there say they even need paper. "We're short on everything," Kirsten Benker explains.
So the school is going to Fight the Couch and raise money.
The students are all fired up about power walking their track outside. They're getting sponsors, from $1 sponsors to $10.
For each lap the sponsors will donate money and the kids will get that much healthier.
Fight the Couch encourages students of all ages to keep track of their "activity minutes."
Anything counts...as long as you're moving! Walking the track, running with the pooch, playing frisbee, chasing your brother or even dancing on the trampoline!
Students turn in their activity minutes to their teacher.
Teachers name their team and log the minutes on a special section on firstcoastnews.com. (Student names and photos will be kept private...just for your school to chart its progress.)
Teachers, you must register to be in the contest. The four classes with the most activity minutes win prizes.
Schools can have multiple classes enter the contest. But each teacher must register individually.
The prizes? Free tickets to Busch Gardens/Tampa, free tennis shoes for the entire class from 1st Place Sports, a free day at Adventure Landing/Jacksonville and $20 gift cards for the entire class at Dick's.
At Hogan-Spring Glen the kids are already moving more. And with childhood obesity such a concern now...that's a positive step.
Any questions? Feel free to email Jeannie Blaylock at jblaylock@firstcoastnews.com.
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