STEP ALONG WITH US: GROUP WALKS AVAILABLE FOR COMMUNITY
Mahaska Wellness Coalition is in day 32 of it's Live Healthy Iowa 100 day wellness challenge
Oskaloosa, Iowa – It is day 32 of the Live Healthy Iowa 100 day wellness challenge and Mahaska County is exceeding all expectations. “We have 89 teams on our leaderboard with 664 adult participants. In 32 days we have averaged over 97 hours of activity time per team (8,300 hours total). And, we have lost 1,219 pounds, a 1.73% decrease,” said Deb Bruxvoort, Mahaska Wellness Coalition member. These numbers do not include the 1,500 plus children participating in the county or the 150 Musco team members who are not on the Mahaska community leaderboard.
Of 20 Iowa counties participating in an outreach project to start wellness coalitions and focus on changing community health, Mahaska County ranked 5th for the percent of county residents participating with 10.34% of the population on a team. “Considering that we had barley 150 county residents participate last year, we have made phenomenal progress,” said Sherry Vavra, coalition member and MCRF Executive Director. “I am proud of our coalition and pleased with the business community support for this important work.”
Don’t forget to walk with us:
MWC is hosting monthly community walks on the first Friday of each month. The next walk will be March 2nd at noon at Penn Central Mall. This month, Hy-Vee will have salads and fruit cups available for purchase after the walk to ensure a healthy lunch on your way back to the office. Walk participants are encouraged to walk for a minimum of 15 minutes, which normally equates to 1 mile. Representatives of the MWC will be on hand to meet community participants and answer various wellness questions. Please join us on March 2nd and “Step Along With Us!”
New community walk available in March:
The Mahaska Conservation has decided to support the community walks by adding an outdoor option. On the 3rd Saturday of every month, starting March 17th, at 1 p.m. join coalition members at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area. This is a great time of year to have an excellent view of the Des Moines River Valley during the Spring Migration. The walk will take place on a two-mile loop trail. There will be telescopes and binoculars available at the scenic overlook at the mid way point. Cedar bluffs is located 10 miles southwest of Beacon on G62, the gravel road just beyond the Eveland Access turnoff.
Change your life! Contact Mahaska County Conservation at 641-673-9327 or the YMCA 641-673-8411 – dawn.collins@mahaskaymca.org – for more information.
