York County Walks

National Organizations

Check out these national resources and learn more about the national walking movement!  

AMERICA WALKS – Making America a great place to walk
A Walkable America: America Walks is committed to mobilizing individuals, organizations and businesses to increase walking and walkability in America. Walkable communities help to promote physically, mentally and economically healthy neighborhoods.

America Walks’ Vision: By 2020, walking in everyday life is embraced across America. Streets and neighborhoods are safe and attractive public places that encourage people of all ages, abilities, ethnicities and incomes to walk for exercise, recreation and transportation. Walkable community policies promote health, economic vitality, environmental sustainability and social equity.

EVERY BODY WALK – The movement to get America Walking
This motivational documentary was produced by Kaiser Permanente’s EVERY BODY WALK initiative. The Every Body Walk! Collaborative is a partnership of national, state and local organizations, federal agencies, businesses and professional associations that are committed to developing and implementing collective approaches that can return walking to a valued, cultural norm for all Americans. Watch their online documentary: The Walking Revolution.

CDC Physical Activity Guidelines for Older Adults    Physical activity is important for all stages of life.  But, for older adults, regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do to maintain good health. It can prevent many of the health problems that seem to come with age. It also helps your muscles grow stronger so you can keep doing your day-to-day activities without becoming dependent on others.  Check out the Centers for Disease Control guidelines for healthy aging.

National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability  How I Walk – A Campaign to Rebrand the Word Walking:  For 16 years, the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability has been successfully implementing a comprehensive, inclusive health promotion agenda targeting the 56 million Americans with a disability. NCHPAD is the premier resource for information on physical activity, health promotion, and disability, serving persons with physical, sensory and cognitive disability across the lifespan. NCHPAD features a variety of resources and services which can benefit all ages and populations that can be found online at www.nchpad.org.

This initiative recognizes the importance of physical activity for people of all ages and abilities. It calls on Americans to be more physically active through walking and calls on the nation to better support walking and walkability. The purpose is to increase walking across the United States by calling for improved access to safe and convenient places to walk and wheelchair roll and by creating a culture that supports these activities for people of all ages and abilities.

The Call to Action includes five strategic goals to promote walking and walkable communities in the United States:

1. Make walking a national priority
2. Design communities that make it safe and easy to walk for people of all ages and abilities
3. Promote programs and policies to support walking where people live, learn, work, and play
4. Provide information to encourage walking and improve walkability
5. Fill surveillance, research, and evaluation gaps related to walking and walkability

Action by multiple sectors of society, as well as by families and individuals, will be needed to achieve these goals.