As part of an ongoing series to promote the non-profit Every Body Walk, I wanted to bring attention to their exciting Campaign Launch Week to be held in Washington D.C. this week from September 19-23, 2011. As I have covered before, Every Body Walk is an online educational campaign aimed at getting Americans up and walking by encouraging increased exercise as well as supporting walkable communities. Their first annual campaign week will include a number of events, speakers, and activities all aimed at raising awareness to the health and community benefits of getting people to walk more on a daily basis.
This is a cause I whole heartedly support and a topic I have written about extensively in my ‘Car Free in Indy’ series on urbanOut and am thus excited to see large non-profits sprout up like Every Body Walk. And it is doubly exciting to see them put significant energy behind their message, something that will be showcased in the campaign launch week when a number of experts and advocates in related fields are brought together to move the conversation forward on walkability issues in the United States.
While this is in no way an exhaustive list of every event or rally, below is a highlight of key happenings during Every Body Walk’s Campaign Launch Week:
Every Body Walk! Launch Event and Reception – Monday, September 19th
This event will officially kick off the week and begin the outreach campaign to encourage people to walk more in their daily lives. The reception will include introductions from Every Body Walk spokesperson Bob Sallis and key partners including the Brookings Institute, Smart Growth America, Rails to Trails, Let’s Move, among others. During this time, an introduction to Every Body Walk’s mobile app and a video from Will Ferrell’s company Funny or Die will launch.
EBW! presents: Summit on Walking – Tuesday, September 20th
Activists, scientists, doctors, foundations, community organizers, school teachers, researchers, human resources experts, economists, city planners, parents – all have one thing in common: the desire for walkable cities and neighborhoods to create lives that blend life and work in harmony. This summit will discuss these issues and tie them to varying angles around the health benefits of walking. Experts in the field, many of whom are participating in the short films and upcoming documentary film to the same topic will be participating. This includes Rails to Trails, District Department of Transportation, Brookings Institute, Let’s Move, Safe Routes to School and more.
Documentary Film Screening and Reception – Thursday, September 22nd
The official Every Body Walk! Documentary will debut on Thursday of the Campaign week with a 30-min advance screening along with 60 minutes of conversation on walking. This event will feature Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General, representatives from the Brookings Institute, the DOT, Smart Growth America, America Walks, and moderated by Rob Sallis from Every Body Walk.
EBW’s Campaign Launch Week, sponsored by Gerber Rigler, is happening thanks to numerous public and private partners, including Discovery Networks, Funny or Die, DC Blogs, DOT, Rails to Trails, Brookings Institute, America Walks, Trust for Public Land, Friends of the Highline, City Parks Alliance, Let’s Move and the corporate brands of FedEx, Toyota, Puma, Walmart and Verizon among others.
For more information on EBW! Week, check out their website here for coverage as well as specifics on the time and place of events and speeches. It is sure to be a very interesting and educational week for walkability in the United States and something I am excited to both promote and be a part of.