Steps for Successful
Planning
Set goals. After you choose an idea for
your physical activity or healthy eating event, set a few clear, easy goals.
This will keep you focused and help make your activity successful. Use the
Examples of Event Goals box as a guide and change them to meet your
community’s needs.
Plan with partners. (See
Building Block #3.) Most partners will help
with ideas for activities and ways to reach the target audience. Partners will
also give you great advice on how to plan the activity and find expert
speakers. They may give you support and resources. Involve partners early
on!
Think about costs. Most activities will
involve some costs. These costs may include:
- Photocopying materials for partners, the media, and
participants
- Buying postage for flyers
- Buying supplies, such as posters and pens
You may also wish to have healthy food or drinks at your
activity, or giveaway items. Keep in mind that partners may be able to help
with some or all of these costs.
Examples of Event Goals
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 Healthy eating:
- To tell people about the benefits of healthy eating
- To give people information and recipes to help
them and their families eat healthier
- To show people how to prepare healthy and tasty
food
Physical activity:
- To tell people about the benefits of physical
activity
- To give people information on how to start and keep
up a physical activity program
- To show people how to warm up to avoid getting
hurt
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Create a schedule or timeline. Allow as
much time as possible to plan your activity. Having plenty of time will help
you make sure that all parts of the activity are taken care of, including any
possible problems. (Refer to the Sample Planning
Timeline and Checklist at the end of this section.)
Prepare materials. Look over the physical
activity and healthy eating materials in Building Block
#8. With your partners, decide what to give out during the activity.
Remember that you can get other materials from the groups that sponsor national
health observances or from partners and expert speakers. Work with partners to
prepare materials, such as flyers and posters, that you will need to promote
the community activity. (See Building Block
#6.)
Keys to a Successful Physical Activity or Healthy Eating
Community Event
Sample Planning Timeline and
Checklist
The amount of time needed to plan a community activity
depends on the type of event or program, the number of people expected, and the
partners or resources needed. In general, you will need about 3–6
months to plan most activities. The earlier you start, the better. For
some large events, such as a community health fair, you may need up to 1 year
to plan.
The checklist below is a sample guide for
planning an activity. Your activity may not require all of these steps. It also
might require other steps. For more information, please review the community
planning resources listed in Building Block
#9.
Before the Activity
- Choose the audience and the type of activity to
plan.
- Write down the goals for your physical activity or
healthy eating event.
- Set up and hold planning meetings with potential
partners.
- Set a date and place for the activity. (Get
permission to use the place if needed.)
- Write an agenda for the activity.
- Invite speakers and make sure they are
available.
- Prepare items to promote the activity, such as
flyers and posters.
- Obtain educational materials, supplies, prizes, and
giveaway items.
- Arrange for audiovisual and other equipment as
needed.
- Prepare a media list and media tools. (See
Building Block #6.)
- Mail flyers and posters and/or post them on
community bulletin boards.
- Send out media tools to those on your media contact
list.
- Pack and bring materials and supplies to the
activity site.
- As early as possible, set up the room or area where
the activity will take place.
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During the Activity
- Greet participants, other guests, partners, and
speakers. Ask them to sign in so you can track who came to the activity.
- Hand out educational materials to the
participants.
- Publicly thank your partners, speakers, and anyone
else who helped plan the activity.
- Give out and collect the Participant Feedback
Forms. (See Building Block #7.)
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After the Activity
- Follow up on any special requests made during the
activity.
- Send thank you letters to partners, speakers,
media, and anyone else who helped to plan the activity or call to thank
them.
- Look over the Participant Feedback Forms, and
share results with your partners and anyone else who helped plan the
activity.
- Share results with the media and ask them to write
a follow-up article about the activity.
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