‘We’re sending them a strong message they count’: Start2Finish builds runners and readers

Bryce is so sure of his running ability, he says, if he were in the animal kingdom, he would be a cheetah.

“The fastest animal ever. The fastest LAND animal,” he clarified.

The seven-year-old Edmonton student is building his confidence in a running and reading program called Start2Finish. It was created 17 years ago by former Edmonton Eskimo Brian Warren in an effort to lift kids out of poverty using fitness and literacy.

READ MORE: Running and reading organization aims to help poverty-stricken kids 

“If I didn’t have the right cleats it would have been very difficult for me to compete out in Commonwealth,” Warren told Global News in a 2009 interview.

“These kids need the right tools and what we’re saying is we’re sending them a strong message that they count and that the tools are important.

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“If you give them a fish, they’ll be able to eat for a day but if you give them to tools to fish, they’ll be able to fish for a lifetime.”

Now, there are 37 weekly clubs across six provinces in Canada. They are all run by volunteers and each have a wait list of kids who want to join.

Deloyce Weist has been a volunteer at one of Edmonton’s three clubs for the last few years.

“It doesn’t cost anything for kids to come and be a part of it.

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“We provide them with the snack, they get their team shirts, we give them shoes for running,” Weist said. “And an opportunity to be in a safe place if parents are still working. Child care isn’t necessarily affordable and they know they are welcome here.”

READ MORE: Kids’ fitness: Why is Canada ranked 19th out of 50 countries? 

According to Start2Finish, fitness tests on participants demonstrate their health improves as a result of being part of the club. Seventy-five per cent of kids who were tracked had improved cardio-respiratory fitness.

Academic performance improved too. Seventeen per cent of program participants improved in reading and writing by an entire letter grade.

Weist has noticed long-term changes in the participants. They learn to set goals and build confidence by running a five-kilometre race at the end of the school year.

“They know they can do anything, be anything. If they can do this small thing, the world is the limit for them.”

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With a third place ranking in last year’s five-kilometre race, Bryce is confident about his future in running.

“Something builds up in my body and makes me go really fast,” he explained. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s really helping me.”

For more information on the program or to find out how to volunteer, visit the Start2Finish website.