Charity broom-ball game

ORONO – The Third Watch hockey team, composed of local police and fire personnel, will play the University of Maine woman’s hockey team in a charity broom-ball game at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 24, at Alfond Arena.

Proceeds from the game will go to the Brown family, who have dealt with financial hardships since their son was born in October. Andy Brown, the baby’s father, is a University of Maine dispatcher.

For information, call Steve Van Dolman at 991-1751 or e-mail svandolman@aol.com.

Grant for WinterKids

WinterKids recently was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation to expand the current kindergarten through grade 12 WinterKids outdoor learning curriculum educational programming to include Winter Health for Preschoolers.

WinterKids received many requests from Maine preschool teachers for programs that help the youngest students learn and be physically active outside during the winter.

According to the Institute of Medicine, over the past 30 years, obesity rates have tripled for preschool children ages 2 to 5. Although the issue of childhood obesity is complex, the WinterKids mission to promote healthy lifestyles is part of the solution.

This winter, a team of WinterKids staff and volunteers, including teachers Jo Dill, Liz Lindsay and Eric Hendrickson, created developmentally appropriate preschool lessons that link academic learning with outdoor activity.

Based on the successful WinterKids outdoor learning curriculum for elementary school children, the new preschool lessons were greeted with enthusiasm by both children and early childhood educators.

WinterKids is the nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children develop lifelong habits of health, education and physical fitness through participation in outdoor winter activity.