Cincinnati Parks Foundation is proud to partner with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to bring the be.well program to Cincinnati Parks. The program gives children with disabilities, and their families, free wellness programming all year long. Six sessions of the program will be offered in Cincinnati Parks. Each program begins with a pre-assessment by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital staff and concludes with a post-assessment.
The sessions in Cincinnati Parks include geocaching, hiking, biking, running, martial arts, and yoga. Last year, the summer be. well Running session won the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association First Place Award for Adaptive Programming in Ohio.
The summer session called be.well Move (previously called be.well Running) is in full swing, and the athletes are having a blast in Cincinnati Parks’ riverfront Parks. Each week they move along the riverfront in T.M. Berry International Friendship Park, Sawyer Point and Smale Riverfront Park.
We caught up with be.well Move Head Coach, Katie Parker, to learn more about the team’s progress:
“At the start of each season, the kids start out pretty timid and shy. Which is completely understandable since they don’t really know what to expect. Usually by the second practice they start to break out of their shells and they realize they can do this. Now that we are in the middle of our season, the kids are definitely in a groove. They come to practice rearing and ready to go.
It’s so much fun to see them gain confidence with each workout. Even through the heat, they end with big smiles on their faces. You can see how proud they are of themselves and what they are able to accomplish.
-Katie Parker, be.well Move Head Coach
I’m so excited to see what the rest of the season & race day brings!”
The be.well Move program ends on July 3 with a special 5K race for the athletes. If you see these wonderful athletes down at Smale Riverfront Park, be sure to cheer them on!
The next session of be.well Adaptive Martial Arts starts on June 12. Registration is open.
The be.well team warms up before they start their workout. 
Be.well athletes with disabilities pose for a team photo. 
Fleet Feet’s Coach Katie cheers on an athlete who uses a wheelchair. 
A be.well move athlete does some celebratory stretching after his run. 
An athlete with disabilities running in the be.well program. 
A team of athletes runs through Cincinnati Parks in the be.we;; program 
A family walks through Cincinnati Parks in the be.well Move Program 
Coach Katie running between be.well teams 
An adaptive athlete with her be.well Cincinnati Children’s Hospital run buddy. 
An athlete with disabilities runs through a Cincinnati Park in the be.well program. 
A be.well athlete petting her run buddy’s dog.