America Walks Inc

AMERICA WALKS, A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT NATIONAL ORGANIZATION, IS BUILDING A DIVERSE AND POWERFUL COALITION TO BE A STRONG VOICE TO ADVANCE AND PROTECT WALKING AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, SERVING AS A COORDINATOR, INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE, AND RESOURCE PROVIDER. AMERICA WALKS ADVANCES GAME-CHANGING CAMPAIGNS WITH NATIONAL AND LOCAL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS.

PUBLIC EDUCATION - AMERICA WALKS EDUCATES THE PUBLIC ABOUT WALKING AND WALKABILITY. WE SERVE AS A PUBLIC VOICE FOR WALKING AND WALKABILITY IN THE MEDIA, BY PROVIDING INFORMATION AND RESOURCES TO INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT SIGN UP FOR OUR PUBLICATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA.

AARP STATE WALKING COLLEGES - IN EARLY 2021, AARP LIVABLE COMMUNITIES ENGAGED AMERICA WALKS TO DELIVER STATE-LEVEL VERSIONS OF ITS NATIONAL WALKING COLLEGE PROGRAM IN GEORGIA, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND CALIFORNIA. AMERICA WALKS STAFF WORKED WITH AARP LIVABLE COMMUNITIES AND THE AARP STATE OFFICES IN GEORGIA, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND CALIFORNIA TO ESTABLISH THE PROGRAM PARAMETERS. IT WAS AGREED THAT EACH STATE WALKING COLLEGE PROGRAM WOULD CONSIST OF 15 FELLOWS AND A SMALL TEAM OF EXPERIENCED MENTORS FROM THE STATE. FELLOWSHIPS WOULD BE OFFERED PREFERENTIALLY TO AARP STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS, SUCH AS AGE FRIENDLY NETWORK COMMUNITY COORDINATORS, BUT THERE WOULD ALSO BE AN OPEN APPLICATION PROCESS. CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O. THE SIX LEARNING MODULES (THREE WEEKS PER MODULE) WOULD BE DELIVERED OVER AN EIGHTEEN-WEEK PERIOD STARTING JUNE 1ST, 2021, WITH SUBMISSION OF WALKING ACTION PLANS IN OCTOBER 2021. AS A RESULT OF THE AARP STATE WALKING COLLEGE PROGRAMS IN SOUTH DAKOTA, GEORGIA, AND CALIFORNIA, 33 LOCAL ADVOCATES HAVE COMPLETED WALKING ACTION PLANS FOCUSED ON ORGANIZING FOR POLICY CHANGE TO CREATE LIVABLE COMMUNITIES AND SEVERAL OTHERS WILL DO SO SOON. 20 OF THESE WALKING COLLEGE FELLOWS HAVE BEEN AWARDED MINI GRANTS TO PAY FOR SPECIFIC EXPENSES RELATED TO INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION. ACCORDING TO SELF-ASSESSMENT SURVEYS, THESE FELLOWS SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED THEIR KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE TO ACCOMPLISH KEY TASKS, THEREBY BUILDING THEIR CAPACITY TO INCREASE WALKING AND IMPROVE WALKABILITY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES (THE GOAL OF THE WALKING COLLEGE).ARKANSAS STATE WALKING COLLEGE - IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (ADH) AND THE ARKANSAS COALITION FOR OBESITY PREVENTION (ARCOP), AMERICA WALKS PROPOSED TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN ARKANSAS STATE WALKING COLLEGE BASED ON OUR NATIONAL WALKING COLLEGE MODEL. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (ADH), THE STATE HAS BEEN WORKING TO ADDRESS OBESITY FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES. THE ARKANSAS STATE WALKING COLLEGE, WHICH BEGINS JANUARY 2022, WILL BUILD ON THEIR SUCCESS STORIES BY EXPANDING THE CAPACITY OF LOCAL ADVOCATES TO CREATE SAFE, WALKABLE, ACCESSIBLE COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE. THE PROGRAM WILL BE DELIVERED AS AN 18-WEEK PROGRAM AND THE CURRICULUM IS ORGANIZED INTO SIX LEARNING MODULES, EACH OF WHICH CAN BE CONVENIENTLY SCHEDULED FOR A THREE-WEEK PERIOD. THE EXPECTATION IS 18 FELLOWS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM AND 3 MENTORS, WHO ARE ARKANSAS RESIDENTS, WILL LEAD THE FELLOWS THROUGH THE COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM AND THEIR WALKING ACTION PLANS.WALKING COLLEGE - WE GRADUATED 22 FELLOWS FROM OUR 2021 NATIONAL WALKING COLLEGE CLASS, AND THEY JOIN 150+ PEOPLE BEFORE THEM. THIS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM IS OPEN ANNUALLY TO ANYONE IN NORTH AMERICA LOOKING TO HONE THEIR SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE AROUND CREATING VIBRANT, SAFE, ACCESSIBLE COMMUNITIES FOR ALL PEOPLE, REGARDLESS OF AGE, RACE, INCOME LEVEL OR PHYSICAL ABILITY.PARTICIPANTS, PAIRED WITH EXPERIENCED LEADERS IN THE FIELD AND PEERS WORKING IN SIMILAR CAPACITIES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE CAR-CENTRIC TRANSPORTATION LANDSCAPE AND THE BASICS OF DESIGN AND POLICY THAT FOSTER SAFE, INCLUSIVE, ACCESSIBLE DESIGN FOR NON-MOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION WHILE DEVELOPING ESSENTIAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS. OVER THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM, THEY ALSO CREATE A BLUEPRINT FOR TAKING ACTION ON A PARTICULAR PROBLEM IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE - AMERICA WALKS PROVIDES TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL AND STATE ADVOCATES THROUGH WEBINARS, DISCUSSION FORUMS, AND WORKSHOPS. DURING 2021, WE PROVIDED ONLINE TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS TO ABOUT 6,500 INDIVIDUALS. WE MAINTAIN AN ACTIVE PRESENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA PROVIDING INFORMATION TO LOCAL WALKING CHAMPIONS AND COMMUNITY ACTIVIST FOCUSED ON CREATING SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, EQUITABLE PLACES TO WALK AND MOVE. WE ANSWER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE QUESTIONS WEEKLY FROM OUR NETWORK OF OVER 40,000 INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS.CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O. COMMUNITY CHANGE GRANTS - AMERICA WALKS AWARDED 30 GRANTS THROUGH OUR 2021 COMMUNITY CHANGE GRANT PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM SUPPORTS LOCAL, GRASSROOTS EFFORTS TO CREATE SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AND ENJOYABLE PLACES TO WALK AND BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE FOR ALL COMMUNITY MEMBERS. SINCE ITS BEGINNING IN 2015, THIS GRANT PROGRAM HAS PROVIDED FUNDS FOR MORE THAN A HUNDRED PROJECTS DEMONSTRATING THE CREATIVITY AND PASSION OF WALKING AND MOVING CHAMPIONS ACROSS THE US. OF THE 30 GRANTEES, 10 WERE AWARDED THOROUGH FUNDING FROM OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH GENERAL MOTORS FOR PROJECTS TO BE COMPLETED IN COMMUNITIES WITH GM FACILITIES. 2021 GRANTEES WERE SELECTED FROM OVER 300 APPLICATIONS BECAUSE THEY DEMONSTRATE A CLEAR DRIVE TO CREATE HEALTHY, ACTIVE, AND ENGAGED COMMUNITIES THAT SUPPORT WALKING AND MOVING FOR TRANSPORTATION, HEALTH, AND RECREATION WITH A FOUNDATION OF EQUITY AND AUTHENTIC ENGAGEMENT OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY. AWARDEES WILL WORK WITH THE AMERICA WALKS TEAM TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THEIR PROJECTS AND SHARE THEIR LESSONS WITH OTHER COMMUNITY CHANGE AGENTS. WHILE THE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS WORK TO PROVIDE STRONG WALKABLE COMMUNITY STANDARDS AND ELEMENTS, THE RESULTS OF EACH GRANT WILL HAVE A POSITIVE CHANGE ON MANY AREAS OF THAT COMMUNITY. THE 2021 COMMUNITY CHANGE GRANTEES/PROJECTS: HTTPS://AMERICAWALKS.ORG/ANNOUNCING-THE-2021-COMMUNITY-CHANGE-GRANTEES/