Walk BC

Are You Ready to Start A Walking Program in Your Community? Great! We would like to help you get started... 

#1 Identify Community Partners

Look for key-community partners who would be willing to work with you. Some examples include: 

• Local government officials
• Schools
• Hospitals
• Family physicians
• Media
• Ethnic and cultural groups... 

By developing community support and involving various sectors in your walking program, together you can help make walking a regular part of every day life in your community. 

#2 Determine the Type of Walking Program Your Community Needs

Work with your partners to determine the type of walking program that would work best in your community. There are many types of walking programs, for example: 

• Pedometer walking programs
• Stroller walking programs for mothers or fathers with babies
• Mall walking programs
• Teen walking programs
• Dog walking groups
• Workplace walking groups
• Pole walking groups
• Drop-in walks... 

Determine the structure of your walking program and how it will best cater to your target audience. 

#3 Set Goals

Work with your community partners to develop key program goals and desired outcomes. Identify and address any environmental or demographic issues that may arise. Identify potential barriers and challenges (page 13 of BC Recreation & Parks Association's Walking Program Resource Guide lists most commonly identified barriers). 

#4 Research Walking Program "Best Practices"

Literature presents common best practices that help create a successful program. Standards of conduct, or policy elements, result from best practices. 

Research first: BC Recreation & Parks Association presents best practices and key policy areas to consider in this Walking Program Resource Guide (p. 9). Then integrate best practices and key policies into your program plan.  

#5 Start Planning

Working with community partners, determine how you will do the following: 

• Run your walking program (roles of each partner, activities, scheduling)
• Overcome potential community, environmental, and personal barriers and challenges (develop a strategy)
• Obtain sponsorship or financial resources necessary to successfully run the program
• Promote your program (newsletter, pamphlets, media releases, website, etc.?)
• Measure the success or evaluate how effective the program is at meeting desired goals  

Download a one-page ‘Planning Guide.' Completing this guide with your partners will help you develop a program plan, move the program along to implementation, and help build commitment and motivation. The guide will also help you to identify and deal with potential issues that may arise. 

#6 Find Sponsors

Sponsorship, in various forms, is vital to launching and sustaining a successful walking program. Sponsorship can be in many forms: financial, food/beverage, marketing, media, etc... It's important to find ways for you to offer potential sponsors benefits that will motivate them to become a sponsor. This is what we call a mutually beneficial partnership. 

For an excellent example of how one community did this, please take a look at Kelowna, BC's success story: Partnerships Play a Key Role as KickStart Steps Out Gains Momentum and More than 11,000 ‘Kelownans' Walk from Greece to China.

Potential sponsors include: 

• Banks
• Restaurants
• Running shoe stores
• Vitamin makers or retailers
• Pedometer manufacturers
• Health clubs
• Medical clinics
• Physiotherapists
• Chiropractors 

#7 Start Promoting

Get your message out about your programs and events using the Marketing Action Plan (M.A.P.) and accompanying adaptable tools and templates which use the theme “Active Is What You Make It”. Visit www.PhysicalActivityStrategy.ca to download M.A.P. and  templates for posters, ads, radio spots, press releases and more.

#8 GO!

Run your program.

#9 STOP! Don't Forget to Evaluate Your Program

Determine how well your program is doing at meeting your desired goals and outcomes. There are several methods that you can use to evaluate your program. Please read BC Recreation & Parks Association Walking Program Resource Guide (p. 15-17) for detailed information about measuring your program's success and impact.