TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A fun run was held Saturday morning to honor the 24th annual Light On after school celebration.

This run allowed children of all ages to come dressed up in their Halloween costumes and get some physical activity. The program tries to push three main focuses, physical activity, nutrition, and mental health.

This is all part of a nationwide series of rallies for After School Alliance.

Madison Schmidt is the nutrition navigator for the VCSC Coordinated Health Program, and she explains the benefits of events like these.

“Even just taking a few little steps is going to make a difference. You don’t have to be a marathon runner to get quality exercise and it’s important to take those little steps every day,” said Schmidt.

She also wanted to add that these programs help a lot of children in this area stay healthy.

“The things that we teach in this program are skills that these kids can use for the rest of their lives. We constantly want to try and establish good practices so that these children can grow up to live healthy lives,” added Schmidt.

Over a million people are expected to participate in over 8,000 Lights On after school events that will take place this month.