Metro Tech Wellness Center Offering “Family Fitness Saturdays” Through June and July

The Metro Technology Centers Community Outreach and Wellness Center is launching a new and free program for families in Oklahoma City starting Saturday, June 3, 2023, and registration is now open. The new “MetroFIT Family Fitness Program” will help meet the health, cultural and recreational needs of the citizens in Oklahoma County, with a specific focus on families residing on its northeast side.

The Metro Tech Family Fitness Program was created by the Community Outreach and Wellness Department with the goal of focusing on health and fitness for families living within the northeast quadrant. “The families in this area lack overall health, fitness, food and educational resources,” McMurry said. “Families who play together stay together. We want to reunite and strengthen them by getting back to the basics of healthy family fun with a free program they can enjoy together.”

The Program will coordinate group nature walks with a park ranger who will lead families throughout trails while educating them on the significance of the nature around them. When the nature walk is finished, the families will participate in a “nature canvas” activity where they can paint their favorite scene from the walk as a way to relieve stress and connect the mind. Other creative artistic activities will be included in the sessions as well.

Additionally, families will also participate in MetroFIT programs at the Center including Zumba, Hip Hop Fitness and Xtreme Hip Hop Step. Nutritional demonstrations, and a variety of health and wellness educational opportunities will be provided. In addition, activities like jump roping, hula hooping and dodgeball will be available as well. At the end of the session, each family will receive a fitness kit that includes a dodgeball, hula hoop and jump rope to continue the fun of what they learned at home.

Valerie McMurry, Director of Community Outreach and Wellness at Metro Tech said the work done through the Department is fueled by a passion to serve and involve the community that surrounds the District in a number of ways.

“We have to focus on the fitness part of the program, but we are striving to be creative in how the families can practice fitness for their bodies and their minds,” McMurry said. “We’ve always been focused on a holistic approach to fitness by including the mind, body and the spirit.”

The implementation of the program is made possible through the $30,000 grant the Department received from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation in June of 2022 as a part of their “OKC Gets Fit” Wellness Initiative. Other current collaborating partnerships include: the Lynn Institute for Healthcare Research, Sisters-n-Motion, Poetic Society and Parks and Recreation divisions of the area.

Participants can choose between the first or second session. The first session will occur on Saturdays from June 3 to June 24 and the second session will begin July 8 and occur every Saturday until July 22. Children aged 5 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult and participating families must include an adult 18 years of age or older.

For more information and to register visit: https://www.metrotech.edu/metrofit/family-fitness or call 405-595-4554.