An initiative to help kids become more active paid off big time for local schools.

Mississippi's Let's Go Walkin' campaign was celebrated Friday in a ceremony held at Harris Elementary School.

"It roughly equals about 30 minutes a day. And as I told some of the kids during the ceremony, a lot of these schools could have walked the distance to Atlanta and nearly back," said Wade Overstreet of Let's Go Walkin' Mississippi. "So we know the children are getting healthier. We know that children who are healthier do better in school, stay in school longer, so we're very proud of the efforts of the Meridian School District."

And it paid off in more ways than one. Elementary schools who walked over 5,000 minutes received a $5,000 check from Blue Cross-Blue Shield to use for health and wellness programs.