The Wellmark Foundation, a nonprofit foundation of Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa, has awarded a two-year, $49,639 grant to the Great River Foundation to fund a new school-based exercise program at two Burlington elementary schools.

The exercise program, Playworks, is designed to provide a safe environment for physical activity at schools during recess, led by trained recess coaches.

The Burlington Community School District calculated the body mass indexes of incoming kindergartners and second-graders at four of its five elementary schools in 2009, and found that nearly 30 percent of the children were obese.

The budget for the program at the two Burlington schools is $78,000. Great River Health Systems is also donating $29,000.