Resources and Activities to Help Residents Be Safe, Active while Staying Home

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Sarah Lowry

Director of the Healthy Community Partnership Mahoning Valley

Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley

(330) 540-1022 

SLowry@cfmv.org

HEALTHY COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP-MAHONING VALLEY LAUNCHES COVID-19 HEALTH AND WELLNESS RESOURCE GUIDE AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITY CHALLENGE

Resources and Activities to Help Residents Be Safe, Active while Staying Home

 YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – Members of the Healthy Community Partnership-Mahoning Valley (HCP-MV) are working together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis by providing support and service to each other and those in our communities that most need it. In these uncertain times, there is a need for credible, consistent information since our world is changing so quickly. There is also a need for hope and to remember to take care of ourselves while we live through these unsettling, challenging, stressful times.

The HCP-MV network and partners identified two areas in which HCP-MV can help address these needs:

• Contribute to the sharing of critical, credible information and resources
• Collaborate with efforts aligned with HCP-MV’s mission and focus areas to improve access to food and safe physical activity

This first area resulted in the creation of the HCP-MV Health & Wellness Resource Guide, which is a collection of informational materials specific to HCP-MV’s mission and focus areas that advocate for equitable access to healthy foods and physical activity. Through this effort, HCP-MV is also a contributor to Mahoning Valley Together, which is a website developed by Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership that provides comprehensive resources and information to help residents respond to and recover from the dramatic changes brought about because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leveraging relationships and resources to collect and share valuable, trusted information to the community is only one of many ways HCP-MV is trying to support one another and our communities during these uncertain, unstable times.

Access to food and safe, outdoor spaces for physical activity has become even more critical for our health and well-being. HCP-MV created fast fact  “postcards” that can be shared for quick bite-sized pieces of information related to food access and safe, outdoor activities for mental health and physical health. These postcards are available in the resource guide.

Secondly, because so much of our routines have been disrupted by the need to stay safe at home to stop the spread of COVID-19, parks and outdoor public spaces have become lifelines to keep ourselves healthy and to maintain some kind of connection, while continuing to practice physical distancing, with our communities. This inspired members of HCP-MV Parks and Green Spaces Action Team to create a community challenge that promotes COVID-19- safe, outdoor activities. 

The name of the challenge is “Share Your Smile, Not Your Space!” Residents will be encouraged to go outside to capture photos or videos of themselves enjoying their favorite outdoor activities. While outdoors, residents are strongly encouraged to practice safety measures like maintaining a minimum of six feet of distance between themselves and other park users and wearing masks while sharing public spaces. These photos and videos can be shared by posting on HCP-MV’s new Facebook page with the hashtag #shareyoursmile. 

By sharing these photos and videos, residents will be entered into in the #shareyoursmile challenge and will be eligible to participate in a drawing for $50 gift cards to local grocery stores. The deadline to be entered into the drawing is Friday, May 15.

The goal of the campaign is to encourage residents to stay active in mind and body by taking advantage of the many beautiful outdoor parks and green spaces in our communities. Members of the HCP-MV Parks and Green Spaces Action Team hope the #shareyoursmile campaign inspires residents to engage in safe, healthy outdoor activities now and into the future.

The Healthy Community Partnership-Mahoning Valley is an initiative supported by the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley that is bringing together organizations and individuals who share a commitment to a healthier Mahoning Valley and desires to create equitable opportunities for residents to eat healthier and be more physically active. There are three focus areas through which HCP-MV is developing strategies to achieve long-term, sustainable change that will result in improved health outcomes: Healthy Food Retail, Active Transportation, and Parks and Green Spaces. The mission of the Parks and Green Spaces Action Team is to add or improve recreational facilities to increase physical activity. The generous support of the Western Reserve Health Foundation, the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation and the William Swanston Charitable Fund provide the financial support for HCP-MV operations and community initiatives.

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AT A GLANCE

 WHAT: HEALTHY COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP-MAHONING VALLEY LAUNCHES COVID-19 HEALTH AND WELLNESS RESOURCE GUIDE AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITY CHALLENGE

WHEN: Friday, April 17-May 15, 2020

WHERE: HCPMahoningValley.com/COVID-19-Resources and Facebook.com/hcpartnership

WHY: Members of the Healthy Community Partnership-Mahoning Valley created HCP-MV Health and Wellness Resource Guide to ensure residents are aware of resources to help meet emergency needs during the COVID-19 Pandemic. HCP-MV also encourages residents to participate in safe, outdoor activities that adhere to physical distancing practices to improve mental and physical health with the #shareyoursmile campaign. Participation in the Share Your Smile campaign enters residents into a drawing for $50 gift cards to local grocery stores.

 

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