Walking pg 3 6-3-10
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- Category: Past Issues
Walking expert
returns to NE CT
National walking expert Robert Sweetgall returns to northeastern Connecticut on June 3 and 4, 2010 to bring his message of walking wellness to thousands of school children and community members.
Over the course of two days, Sweetgall will hold assemblies and walk rallies for Canterbury Elementary School, Dr. Helen Baldwin Middle School, Hampton Elementary School, Pomfret Community School and Killingly Intermediate School.
In addition to the school assemblies and walk rallies, Sweetgall will conduct three educational sessions on June 3; an educator’s forum from 3:15 to 4:30, a Nordic walking clinic from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m., and a motivational health and fitness event from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.. All three sessions will be held in the Putnam Middle School auditorium.
Sweetgall’s visit is made possible by the HealthQuest coalition, a collaborative health partnership of the Northeast District Department of Health (NDDH), Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH), Daniel’s HealthMart Pharmacy, Plainfield Public Schools, the Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, Town of Putnam Community Development, and WINY Radio.
Since 2007, the HealthQuest coalition has sponsored an annual event to raise awareness about healthy lifestyles. In 2009, the group was selected as a national Action Community for Health, Innovation, and Environmental Change (ACHIEVE), and received grant funding from the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. The focus of their work is to implement policy changes that would sustain programs designed to reduce the risk factors of chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
“A perfect example is last year’s launch of the HealthQuest WriteSteps initiative in the Plainfield School System,” said Linda J. Colangelo, director of Health Education and Communications for NDDH. “The school day starts with a 10-minute walk, then the students journal about a daily walking topic at some point in the day. Plainfield Memorial School and Plainfield Central School committed to try the program for the first year. When it was time to address the curriculum for year two, the staff requested that the walking program remain in place, so it has actually become part of the school curriculum.”