by Tanya Deans
As a resident of North Grenville, a Registered Nurse at Kemptville District Hospital and Vice-Chair of the Health, Wellness and Fitness Advisory Committee for the Municipality, I am so thankful to be a part of this thriving community. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to play a role in promoting an initiative that promotes active living!
ParticipACTION is a non-profit organization offering a Community Better Challenge – a national physical activity initiative that encourages Canadians to get active for the month of June. North Grenville residents, and participating groups, organizations and schools can participate and track all move minutes – from riding a bike, to family walks, to virtual group exercise classes.
Once participants download the app and enter the Community Better Challenge, all logged minutes within the local Postal Code will go toward North Grenville’s overall score. You can log your minutes manually on the app, or if you have a fitness tracker it will log them for you. You can also log minutes on the website and add family members (kids, partners) and submit their daily minutes too. The more minutes tracked, the greater opportunity North Grenville has to win top prize of $100,000 and be crowed Canada’s most active community!
The Advisory Committee has set a goal to bring awareness of health, wellness and fitness initiatives to North Grenville residents. The pandemic has brought to light the importance of pivoting, adapting and setting new goals. These three actions, as well as others, are vital to staying healthy, well and fit.
For the month of June, I have challenged myself to walk to work every day. I take pictures of local businesses on my way to work, and post them on social media. Thanks to Kemptville District hospital for supporting the promotion of this initiative. Word is out within the hospital, and we are tapping into people’s friendly competitive spirit, challenging various groups to compete against one another.
As I am writing this in the first few days of the challenge, and North Grenville is strong out of the gate sitting at first place provincially! My challenge to everyone is to keep this momentum going! Log your minutes, or find someone who can log your minutes for you! Let’s Go North Grenville!
For more information on the Challenge visit: www.northgrenville.ca/GetActive
