PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers TV host and Oregon Ducks star Jordan Kent has been hosting youth camps all over Oregon and southwest Washington for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it tough for families stay active and he wanted to help.
"Our youth sports camps have always been providing fun curriculum and activities for kids. Just because we can't meet with kids and families in person, doesn't mean we can't do that for them," said Kent.
"For parents, we got a lot of requests that first weekend when they realized schools were going to be out for an extended period of time and need stuff to keep their kids active. We thought why don't we give parents something they can look forward to with their kids each day, a simple little challenge that won't take too long to do, but is very rewarding."
Just like that the Healthy Kids Challenge was born. They consist of a few short exercises to keep the kids moving, having fun and adding some incentive with prizes as well. There is a challenge every weekday on the Jordan Kent Camps Instagram page.
In just a couple of weeks after launching the program, Kent is receiving lots of positive feedback.
"To get messages about looking forward to it every day, 'my kids have loved this' and when you see the pictures, videos and all the wonderful things families are doing to stay active and stay connected, it really brought us a lot of joy," said Kent.
"It felt like we were growing this sense of community. Even though we can't be there with them right now, I think digitally providing this content has really helped us connect with more people than we could have ever really imagined."