Hosting a Successful National Start! Walking DayNational Start! Walking Day is a call-to-action for Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Your company can help your employees take the first step in becoming more active by participating. Join thousands across the nation as they wear their sneakers to work on April 16, 2008, and pledge to start a healthier lifestyle as part of this annual event.

Follow this checklist to organize your National Start! Walking Day.

Get your senior leaders involved. Participation from key leaders such as the CEO sends a clear signal to staff that your organization supports Start!. When senior leaders set a healthy example, employees follow.

Save the date. Reserve time on your employees’ calendars for National Start! Walking Day on April 16. You can also distribute the handy Save the Date cards in this packet. Set a time during the day to hold a rally and walk. Pick the time that’s best for your company such as first thing in the morning, during lunch or as a mid-afternoon break. If your company is unable to have a rally at a specific time, challenge your employees to walk a designated distance throughout the day and have health information set up along the route.

Gather a team. Recruit volunteers (maybe your Wellness Committee or your Start! Walking Program team leaders) to help plan the day and spread the word.

Educate and motivate. Plan a National Start! Walking Day rally and walk for employees that includes heart-healthy activities and information. Key parts of your plan could include:

• Encouraging staff to wear sneakers to work on National Start! Walking Day to show their commitment to living healthier lives. If your dress code doesn’t permit sneakers, wear Start! buttons, green shirts or pedometers.

• Planning a rally in your auditorium, courtyard or other location that will kick off the all-staff walk.

– Ask your CEO to address employees during the National Start! Walking Day kickoff. You can use the presentation on the resource CD for your CEO’s talking points.

– Ask employees to share their success stories. If you participate in the Start! Walking Program, the Lifestyle Change Award winners can be honored.

– Announce winners of the sneaker decorating contests.

• Hosting a walk, led by senior leaders, inside or outside your workplace. If you have a walking path, use it! This will make employees more comfortable with using the path in the future.

• Serving heart-healthy snacks at the rally location and/or along the walk route. Green apples, raisins, granola bars, bananas and popcorn are examples of heart-healthy snacks.

• Screening your employees for health risks such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. Ask staff of a local health facility to do this for you.

• Encouraging employees to pledge to live a healthier lifestyle. This is the day that they can start taking control of their lives. Giveaways such as pedometers can ensure that employees keep up with a healthy lifestyle beyond National Start! Walking Day. You can also encourage employees to sign up for our free fitness tracker, MyStart! Online, at www.heart.org/mystartonline. It’s a great way to keep up the good work!

Nationally Sponsored by:

• Going the extra mile. Tie in to other aspects of Start! participation. If your company does not already participate in these great programs, visit www.heart.org/start for more information. Here are a few ideas on how you can tie each into this day:

– Start! Walking Program — Celebrate the end of a four-week walking challenge or kick off a new one. Announce and reward those who were the most successful during the four weeks.

– Start! Lifestyle Change Award — Recognize an employee who has made a significant health change.

– Start! Fit-Friendly Companies — Announce what you’re including on your application or what you have planned to take your award to the next level.

– Start! Heart Walk — Depending on what time of year your city’s event is held, announce your recent successes or what your goals will be for your next event.

Spread the word. Promote your National Start! Walking Day using posters in the workplace, contests and interactive activities.

• Send e-mails and voicemails inviting employees to attend the National Start! Walking Day festivities. The National Start! Walking Day packet has templates for communications you can use.

• Offer contests and other interactive activities for employees leading up to the day. Examples include sneaker-decorating and sneaker-spotting contests in which employees try to catch the CEO and company leaders wearing sneakers during April.

• Hold a contest between departments; the one with the highest percentage of participants wins.

• Invite a lifestyle change expert, wellness guru or fitness trainer, nutritionist or physical therapist to speak at your company.

• Create a company blog on which employees can share their experience with Start!

• Purchase Start! prizes or giveaways for employees such as pedometers, notepads and pens at www.shopstart.org

Pledge a Million. After your rally invite all employees to visit heart.org/start and click on ‘Pledge Now’. There they will have the opportunity to help in our goal to reach a million miles and dollars on National Start! Walking Day. Watch our real time ticker rise to a million!

Start! now with the tools in this packet:

• National Start! Walking Day Resource CD — Includes tools such as:

– E-mail templates — Customize our e-mail text with your event specifics and distribute it to your workplace via e-mail.

– Voicemail templates — Ask your CEO or other leaders to spread the word via company voicemails.

– Drop-in newsletter articles — Include National Start! Walking Day in your company newsletter.

– Poster and flyer artwork — Print more to spread the word throughout your company. Distribute desk drops so everyone has one. Include a bottle of water or an apple for a healthy snack.

• National Start! Walking Day poster, flyer, and stickers to publicize the event within your workplace.

• Downloadable Resources are also available at www. heart.org/start

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CB-0237 2/08©2008, American Heart Association. Also known as the Heart Fund.

walk more + eat well =

live longerheart.org/start