Active Living Program News
Oregon Municipality Offers Active Living Every Day to Employees
As businesses and organizations around the country seek out methods of improving the health of their employees and communities, many turn to evidence-based programs. One such organization is the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments in Albany, Oregon. Pamela Lunsford, Living Well Regional Coordinator for senior and disability services, trained as a program facilitator for Active Living Every Day in October 2009 and completed their pilot program in March 2010. And that first class went very well, according to Lunsford.
“Our goal was to pilot the program and gather feedback from our employees about perceived effectiveness in order to better determine if this would be a good tool for our 50-plus community. I like that Active Living Every Day enables anyone wanting to become more active to participate. It’s an inclusive curriculum, making it very versatile.” Their senior and disability services department is dedicated to the advancement of successful aging and longevity through education, leadership, and innovative services that enhance the quality of life and dignity of their 50-plus community. This is the primary group that Active Living Every Day may be offered to in future classes.
In their inaugural offering, which involved holding classes in a conference room over the lunch hour, Oregon Cascades enrolled 20 participants from a variety of demographic groups. They used the modified 14-week curriculum. The only requirement for participation was a desire to be more active.
Fulfilling that desire to become more active led participants to discover many benefits of participation in Active Living Every Day. Lunsford says, “We have participants who learned to set and achieve personal goals for the first time. Many people identified supports for themselves in the community and have made arrangements to take advantage of those sources of support. We have a core group of people who continue to meet in order to stay connected and offer support to each other. Another group of participants formed a weekly walking group. “
Those Active Living Every Day successes ultimately help the organization to fulfill their mission of enhancing quality of life. “I love the word "thrive" because it encapsulates what we are all capable of when given needed support and knowledge,” Lunsford shared. “Active Living Every Day is a tool that helps people move from a place of not knowing how to achieve their goals to a place of knowing how to achieve their goals. I love it!”
Lunsford says that they look forward to the updated second edition of Active Living Every Day due at the end of the year. The 12-week curriculum will work well for their population. “We are really looking forward to seeing the new course book!”
For more information about offering Active Living Every Day in your community or organization, please contact Michelle Maloney at michellem@hkusa.com or 800-747-4457 ext 2522, or visit the Web site at www.ActiveLiving.info.
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