CSUMB exercise program gets $15,000 grant from Big Sur Marathon Foundation

By Mark Muckenfuss

Cal State Monterey Bay is among 17 organizations to receive grants through the inaugural Big Sur Marathon Foundation Community Grants Program, which awarded nearly $220,000 to agencies and programs in Monterey County.

The $15,000 grant for CSUMB will be used by the Kinesiology department’s Exercise is Medicine on Campus program, which is overseen by Campus Wellness Coordinator and Kinesiology Professor Lisa Leininger and Assistnat Professor Sara Powell. The program promotes yoga, strength training and other healthy activities for the campus community. The program supports the goals of the university’s Wellness Raft to offer health and wellness resources for students, faculty and staff.

The foundation said its grants are targeted at youth sports and outdoor recreation, mentoring programs, school wellness initiatives, trail stewardship, programs that connect children and families with healthy, active lifestyles and other educational and health programs. 

“This grant is funding our program over the entire academic year,” Powell said. “So it makes a huge difference.”

Last year, she said, the program ran largely on a $10,000 grant from Montage Health. 

Most of the new grant, Powell said, “is going to pay the staff of our program. Without staff, Lisa and I have to do everything ourselves.”

As popular as the award-winning program is, she said, it has no formal budget allotment.

“This entire program is run off of grants and donations,” she said. 

Besides grants, such as those from the Big Sur Marathon Foundation and Montage Health, some money comes from the annual Day of Giving campaign. Last year, Powell said, that amounted to about $1,500. 

The new grant will allow staffing for various programs during the academic year. Powell also hopes it will support the yoga and resistance training classes during the summer months. Both are popular with students, as well as faculty and staff. 

The funding, she added, comes at a good time. 

“It’s a great help for us,” she said. 

More information on the Exercise is Medicine on Campus program is available on its website.