Paul Pierce and The Boston Foundation Kick Off the Million Hour Challenge

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As you can see for yourself in the two photos above, Celtics forward Paul Pierce recently participated in a seemingly fun-filled day of exercise with children at the Kroc Center in Boston. The event celebrated the beginning of the Million Hour Challenge, in which, as you may be able to guess, a group of kids will collectively complete a million hours of physical activity in 2012. Here are some details, courtesy of elevate:

One million hours of jumping, running, playing, dancing and MOVING in 2012. That’s what Paul Pierce asked hundreds of youth to take on at a kick-off rally today for the Million Hour Challenge, created by the all-star’s Truth on Health Campaign and The Boston Foundation’s CHAMPS (Coaches Helping Athletes through Mentoring and Positive Sports) Boston Initiative.

The kids spent the morning at Kroc Center Boston immersed in fun and age-appropriate strength, endurance and flexibility exercises, including: crab soccer, “Watch Your Back” tag, an Iron Lung Relay, stretching and yoga. Activities were led by local fitness experts from Playworks, a national nonprofit that works with public schools to create play for children. The attendees were also treated to a hip-hop dance routine performed by Boston Celtics Junior Dance Team Lil’ Phunk and a Double Dutch jump rope demonstration featuring the Beantown Jumpers.

The event participants, young athletes from Pierce’s FitClub34, Boston Public Schools and the CHAMPS initiative, received Paul Pierce Activity Watches powered by Switch2Health to record their physical activity during the event and throughout the challenge year. The innovative device tracks physical activity and motivates kids to be active through rewards and incentives.

“I’m excited that The Boston Foundation CHAMPS initiative has joined Truth on Health in our ongoing mission to fight childhood obesity and motivate kids to make healthy choices,” said Pierce. “The more kids we can reach and inspire to get active, the faster we’ll achieve our goal of logging a million hours, so come on kids, come check out my website at www.truthonhealth.org and see how you can join the movement.”

“Our goal is to get as many kids in Boston engaged in the Million Hour Challenge as possible, get them on the right track by giving them the tools and resources they need to get fit, and then use this as a model for a national movement that we can roll out across the country,” he continued. “So I’m challenging all the kids in Boston to join us and show the country how its done, and help set an example for the country to make a difference in the lives of our nation’s youth.”

Photos courtesy of Matt West.