Orioles Help Howard County Kids Stay Healthy

Approximately 100 kids from Howard County ran and played on the fields they usually admire from afar, meeting with some of those who make up the home team Baltimore Orioles.

HC Drug Free, a nonprofit in its sixth year, organized the event with the help of the Horizon Foundation and the nationwide “PLAY” Campaign, according to director Joan Webb Scornaienchi.

Scornaienchi said she hopes the presence of Orioles trainers and catcher Matt Wieters will instill the memory “for the rest of their lives.”

After a lecture on the risks of anabolic steroids and drug abuse, the kids rotated through different exercises with Orioles athletic trainers.

Wieters, the keynote speaker for the event, told the kids that his family helped him and his sister stay active throughout childhood by encouraging competition and limiting their time watching television.

“Giving kids goals and things to work toward will keep them on a straight path,” Wieters told Patch.

HC Drug Free partnered with the Howard County Police Department, Public School System, Department of Fire and Rescue Services and the Howard County Library to create 15 free educational programs during the 2010-2011 school year.

The "PLAY" Campaign, Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth, is an effort by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society to reduce childhood obesity with activities in 30 MLB baseball parks.