On the 23 March children, parents and VIP guests will be taking part in Busy Bees Torch 136 day relay event at Busy Bees in Lostock Hall, which will incorporate 136 nurseries and over 11,500 children aged 0-5 across the UK. Chorley Hospital Busy Bees will be delivering the torch on the 23 March.
To commemorate the Olympics, and as part of a fund-raising initiative, a child-friendly Bee-themed torch will over the next seven months make its way around 136 Busy Bees Nurseries across the UK, supported by an array of sports personalities and Paralympic champions at various stages of the journey, before reaching its final destination in Excel on Thursday 26 July, the eve of the London Olympic Opening Ceremony.
The 136-day relay will help promote Busy Bees nurseries 'Golden Mile,' a physical activity initiative with child development and stimulation at its core. Its aim is to encourage children aged two and over to complete up to eight miles of physical activity within a twelve month period. Through nursery guidance and home participation the children can choose how they want to clock up their miles - whether it be running, skipping, jumping or cart-wheeling!
As part of Busy Bees' commitment to promote healthy living, and its response to recent Government guidelines that once a child can walk they should be physically active and moving around for at least three hours a day, 136 nurseries signed up to take part in the Golden Mile Challenge, which was launched at Sudbury Hill Busy Bees nursery by Dame Kelly Holmes last October.
The target is for each child to complete eight Golden Miles throughout the year. All participating children will get the chance to engage in a number of exciting physical activities and they will all receive certificates at every significant milestone of the project along with a commemorative Olympic-themed photograph and medal at their very own closing ceremony.
Golden Mile's Chief Executive, David Batch, said: "The Golden Mile are proud to provide Busy Bees with their very own physical activity initiative designed specifically with their needs in mind. We hope to get every nursery child nationwide physically active and achieving their Golden Miles.
"We therefore welcome Busy Bees to our ever growing portfolio of different sectors which will cover Nurseries, Schools, Scouts, Further/Higher Education institutes and Corporates.
"We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Busy Bees in the future."
As well as encouraging children to engage in physical activity from a young age, children are sponsored to take part in the Busy Bees' 'Golden Mile' challenge to raise funds for The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, a charity which gives disadvantaged young children the chance to realise their dreams through inspirational guidance from Paralympic, World and Commonwealth champions. Busy Bees have pledged to raise at least £44,000 for the charity by October 2012.
Olympic Gold Medallist, Dame Kelly Holmes, said:"I'm thrilled that Busy Bees nurseries have decided to support my charity, the DKH Legacy Trust, with the Golden Mile. It's fantastic that young children are being encouraged to take up an active and healthy lifestyle and their support will really help us to create life chances for more young children."
Throughout the 136-day relay an impressive collaboration of sports personalities and Paralympic champions will be making guest appearances and offering their encouragement to those involved with what is promising to be one of Busy Bees most exciting projects to date. There will also be the chance for everyone to log on and check the torches progress from the 9th January for details of this and any other information about the Golden Mile or Busy Bees please go to www.busybees.com.