Cache Valley communities, schools and businesses banding together to keep children active this summer

<span class=”s1″>“Cache Valley Unplugged” is an effort to encourage children to stay active this summer. It is a collaboration involving many towns in Cache Valley, some businesses and two school districts.</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>Hyrum Mayor Stephanie Miller said other communities experienced success in this effort to help kids to put down their electronics and get out and play.</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>“It encourages children to live a healthier lifestyle, it gives them something to do during the summer, to get outside and do things with their families. At the same time it helps local businesses. It improves the foot traffic through a local business when it sponsors an activity that the youth are involved in.</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>“They are able to go to that local business and collect their Brag Badge.”</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>Mayor Miller said businesses in Heber Valley reported it increased their foot traffic by 500 percent.</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>Miller and North Logan City recorder Scott Bennett have worked together, beginning at the end of 2013 with the Mayor visiting many different council meetings to spread the work about “Unplugged” and to gauge interest, town-by-town.</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>Those communities involved have contributed funds to set up a website. </span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>Mayor Miller explains the process.</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>“Let’s say a local business sponsors fishing. The youth will see that at <a href=”http://cachevalleyunplugged.com”><span class=”s3″>cachevalleyunplugged.com</span></a> or in a magazine. So the youth go fishing and take a picture with their phone, or whatever it is the business requires. Then they go to the business to collect their Brag Badge.”</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>Miller said Brag Badges are collectibles of interest to the youth. Their challenge is to collect as many badges as possible.</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>The youth collect Brag Badges and put them on their Unplugged lanyard, which which will soon be available at their school. </span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>The website explains the “Play Unplugged Challenge” which is a complete media detox, avoiding television and video games and not watching media of any kind for 10 days.</span>

<p class=”p2″><span class=”s1″>“We will be going to each of the schools, K through 7th grade, in the Logan and Cache School Districts to explain the program and to give teachers the lanyards and magazines for each student. Lanyards and magazines will also be available at the Cache Chamber of Commerce.”</span>

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!