Shape Your Future and the Tulsa County Wellness Partnership Encourage Oklahomans to Walk or Bike to School
TULSA, OK – [October 6, 2014] – Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett, the Tulsa County Wellness Partnership and Shape Your Future are encouraging students, families, communities and schools to ”walk ‘n’ roll” during International Walk or Bike to School Day on October 8.
Bartlett has proclaimed this Wednesday as International Walk to School Day in the City of Tulsa.
Shape Your Future is a statewide health initiative funded by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) that encourages Oklahomans to eat better, move more and be tobacco free.
Walk or Bike to School Day promotes physical activity and raises awareness for the need to have walkable communities that are safe for pedestrians, especially children. Not only is Walk or Bike to School Day an easy way for kids to stay active, but it also advocates the need for policies and projects that promote safe walking and bicycling, such as sidewalks, bicycle lanes, crosswalks and walking trails.
In addition to naming health benefits of walking to school, the mayor’s proclamation states “the lives of hundreds of children could be saved if communities take steps to make pedestrian safety a priority.”
Last year, there were 4,467 registered events for Walk or Bike to School Day across the nation, including 75 events in Oklahoma. Activities will be going on throughout the day around the city including at Eliot and Mark Twain Elementary Schools where parents will walk or bike with their children to school. The parade at Mark Twain begins at 9:00am. Later on in the month of October at Sequoyah Elementary there will be a parent appreciation walk that will recognize parents who participate in their walking school bus.
“Walking or riding bikes to school is a fun, easy way for your kids to get some of their daily physical activity,” said Elizabeth Hebert, TCWP school health and policy sub-committee chair. “Walking or biking together as a family is also a great way to feel more connected to your family and your community, doing your heart good in more ways than one.”
Shape Your Future and the Tulsa County Wellness Partnership are setting the stage with several ways participants can “walk n’ roll” on their way to school on October 8:
Start a “walk n’ roll” band. Take the whole family along, and invite friends and neighbors to participate too, making it a neighborhood event.
If you live too far from school or do not have access to safe routes, designate a starting point for you and your family to park. Then, get the show on the road and walk or bike from there.
Host an event at your school, like a “walk n’ roll” parade. Have it during a school assembly, and let students become “walk stars.”
To register a Walk or Bike to School Day event, visit www.walkbiketoschool.org. Registering a Walk or Bike to School Day event provides organizers access to free, downloadable materials, including stickers, certificates and customizable fliers. Events that register on the Walk or Bike to School website will be displayed on an interactive U.S. map, where neighboring communities, media and other organizations can identify who is holding an event in their area.
For more information about Walk or Bike to School Day, visit www.ShapeYourFutureOK.com.
Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations working towards shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, by cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and by working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. To learn more go to: www.tset.ok.gov.
Tulsa County Wellness Partnership
The Tulsa County Wellness Partnership (TCWP) is a sponsored group of the Family Health Coalition and a Communities of Excellence grantee of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust. TCWP is dedicated to changing policy and environments in Tulsa County to make healthy nutrition and fitness the easy choice in schools, workplaces and communities. To learn more about local events or how to work toward a healthier school, workplace or community, please contact Daphne Gaulden at 918-595-4039 or dgaulden2@tulsa-health.org.
