Wat-aah! Foundation, an organization founded by the New York City-based Wat-aah! brand of functional bottled water for kids and teens, announced the third annual Move Your Body 2013 event will take place in New York City and Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 1, at 1:42 p.m. EDT/10:42 a.m. PDT. The annual nationwide youth exercise event in support of First Lady Michelle Obama 's Let's Move! initiative will involve 250,000 kids from more than 600 schools across the country.
Move Your Body's national initiative will kick off with hubs in New York City and Los Angeles, accompanied by schools all across the nation including in Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Chicago; Boston; Philadelphia; San Diego; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; and Jacksonville, Fla. The special events will feature celebrity appearances and performances by actors and music artists including Bella Thorne, Coco Jones and Jacob Latimore as well as pop group Mindless Behavior, among others.
The brand also released a public service announcement featuring these celebrities as well as Austin Mahone, Blake Michael, Carly Rae Jepsen, Eve, Jada Grace, Jessica Sanchez, Luke James, Madison Beer, Perez Hilton and The Wanted to promote the event. While dancing to Beyoncé’s flash workout theme song “Move Your Body,” the celebrities share encouraging messages, such as, "You've got it!" and, "Keep it going," to inspire young viewers to keep dancing, the company says.
In addition, the foundation placed billboards and media across major markets such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles to promote the event.
In 2011, Wat-aah! joined The National Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation, Washington, D.C., who teamed up with Beyoncé as she debuted "Move Your Body," for the Let's Move! Flash Workout. The song and music video instructed a pre-choreographed dance routine re-recorded from her hit single "Get Me Bodied." It was performed simultaneously by thousands of school children on May 3,, 2011. The event gained global recognition as Beyoncé surprised students at Harlem's P.S.161 and First Lady Michelle Obama surprised students at Alice Deal Middle School in Washington, D.C.
Wat-aah! spearheaded the event in 2012 and strived to make it even bigger by involving thousands of kids as well as NFL and NBA athletes in its nationwide Move Your Body 2012 event, the company says.
"Thanks to the kids, Move Your Body has taken on a life of its own," said Rose Cameron, chief executive officer and founder of Wat-aah!, in a statement. "The Wat-aah! Foundation is committed to facilitating this event for the thousands of participating students, acknowledging their hard work and their desire to live healthy lives. It has become more than a fun, well-choreographed exercise routine with great music; it is a celebration of the children's efforts to stay healthy, and the Wat-aah! Foundation will not abandon them. May 1 is the day we celebrate the children and applaud their efforts."
This year, the Wat-aah! Foundation looks to encourage even more schools to take part in the campaign and spread the message of healthy hydration and physical activity to even more students, it says.
