As a premier company that represents brands like MTV and Nickelodeon, Viacom is no stranger to entertainment. And that familiarity suited its employee volunteers well last Friday when they spent the afternoon at our Goodhue Center on Staten Island entertaining 60 third and fourth graders with activities that ran the gamut from hula hooping to face painting. Yet, the message Viacom’s employees had to impart that day—Viacommunity Day 2017, the company’s worldwide day of service—was even more important than the great time had by all: an active lifestyle is a key component to growing up strong. As Children’s Aid would say, physical well-being is critical to helping youth realize their utmost potential.

Viacom’s Health Fair at Goodhue was much more than your run-of-the-mill event that implores kids to “brush your teeth” or “play for 60 minutes a day.” Not only did the members of the Viacommunity man different relay race stations and participate in jump roping, they also took time out to speak to the kids about their work at Viacom, helping inspire our youth about possibilities for their own futures. What’s more, our kids did not leave the Health Fair empty handed. Thanks to the generosity of Viacom, each young person went home with a goody bag filled with hygiene products and a health-conscious snack. Children’s Aid is delighted to be a beneficiary of Viacommunity Day 2017. And we thank Viacom executive vice president and CFO, Wade Davis, who we honored at our annual gala this past November, for his service and support in the realm of education reform and his dedication to improving outcomes for disengaged youth, for its investment in the well-being of the young people we serve.