Dear St. Lucie County School District Employees:
Join the Healthy St. Lucie Coalition Billion Steps Challenge! This is a community-wide movement to increase physical activity and healthy living in St. Lucie County. As of October 24, 2018, we have 1,164 registered participants and 119 teams, representing 32 unique organizations including private business, local schools, Indian River State College, a variety of nonprofits, churches, neighborhoods, parks and recreation, healthcare, and city/county employees. Together we have accrued 723,594,847 steps. We need your help to achieve our goal!
This challenge is completely FREE, and is a great way to maintain your fitness goals, while sparking some healthy competition among coworkers, family or friends. Join now and help Healthy St. Lucie achieve our first goal of one billion steps by December 31, 2018, and then continue on with us into 2019 as we set our sights on the next goal.
Below, you will find information on how to register, form teams, enlist people to help and enroll in upcoming mini challenges. Let’s continue to work together as a community to get healthy and show the world that St. Lucie County is a healthy, active place to live, learn, work and play.
Best of health,
Jennifer J. Harris
Community Health Promotion Director
Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County Jennifer.harris@flhealth.gov
About Healthy St. Lucie
In June of 2015, the Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County met with community partners to begin work on a Community Health Improvement Plan for 2016-2019. This meeting launched the Healthy St. Lucie Coalition to promote health where we live, learn, work, and play.
On January 1 of this year, the Healthy St. Lucie Coalition launched a Billion Steps Challenge to encourage residents in St. Lucie County to be more active. This challenge was initiated as a strategy for the 2016- 2019 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) to address our high sedentary rates in St. Lucie County.
Getting Started
Creating Your Account
Walker Tracker is the online activity tracking platform we are using to host the challenge. Complete your registration by clicking on the link https://healthystlucie.walkertracker.com/ to answer a few questions and set your personal goals. Walker Tracker will take you through the simple process of synching a device or how to manually track your activity. If you have a smart phone, there is a free Walker Tracker app you can download to stay on top of your progress while you are on the go.
Forming a Team
It is easy to form your own Team! Create a name and then invite others to join. Any registered participant from your organization can join one team, by selecting the TEAM tab on the Walker Tracker website. Before starting a team, please consider a name and how many teams you would like to form.
Naming Your Team
You can pick out any team name, but this system will only let you change it once. So, choose wisely! On your team page, you can post a logo or other graphic and add some information about your team. More teams at an organization creates more friendly competition to keep everyone motivated! If you decide on multiple teams, you may want to consider a naming convention that would allow you to see the teams from your organization. See examples below of teams the Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County formed.
FDOH-Finance FDOH-Admin
FDOH-School Health
Aligning Your Team for Success
While you may be the “lead” on paper, you can’t do it all by yourself! Consider targeting some key movers to help your team succeed. Some examples:
Registration/Tech Lead
There is always at least one tech savvy person within any group, and your team will be no different. From registration on Walker Tracker to synching a device, some of your team members may need assistance along the way. If possible, try to recruit a tech savvy person to support your team.
Team Cheerleader
Every group seems to have that one person in the office that is always cheering everyone on. Find that person and let them work their magic on your team. They can help encourage members to join, keep members engaged, and find fun ways to help the group celebrate milestones along the way.
Mini Challenges
Keep the momentum going by competing in monthly virtual challenges within Walker Tracker to help participants set and reach new goals. Based on your current fitness level, there are 3 levels choose from
– the HOP, the DASH or the ULTRA. These challenges provide opportunities for teams to be creative (think costumes, healthy potlucks, homemade prizes) and have fun while getting fit. Individual winners for each mini challenge level will receive a prize from a local sponsor, as well as a certificate from the Healthy St. Lucie Coalition. Registered participants of the Billion Steps Challenge will receive a notification email from Walker Tracker with links to register for each mini challenge. See the information below for the dates and descriptions of the upcoming challenge so you can start planning your fun now!
November 15-28, 2018: Turkey Trot
We’re inviting you to stay active, healthy and have a lot of fun along the way in our Turkey Trot Challenge. This is a perfect fall time challenge and a great way to stay true to your fitness habits going into the holiday season. As you walk around the East Coast on the route (shaped like an actual turkey) you’ll discover the milestone pins along the route include health tips to reduce stress, eat better, and improve overall health.
December 5-18, 2018: Winter Wonderland, European Trek
This is a great winter adventure. Travel along a snowflake shared route as you hike through the land and sea of Viking ships, Norse warriors, and the Kraken! Some of the stops we’ll visit; Russia in time for the Nutcracker, Finland for a quick sauna break, Denmark to learn about the original Little Mermaid and check out the wonders of Iceland. The Pacer Viking Ship will lead the way!
Need Help?
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any assistance.
Jennifer.harris@flhealth.gov 772-785-5838
