Community Action Tool Kit
How You Can Get Involved:  Local Stay in Circulation Event Ideas

Back to Community Action Tool Kit

By organizing and hosting local Stay in Circulation campaign events, you can actively help people in your community learn more about peripheral arterial disease (P.A.D.) and the steps they can take to lower their risk for developing it.

It may be ideal for you to weave Stay in Circulation campaign messages, themes, and materials into your existing, upcoming local P.A.D. outreach efforts.  In addition, you may want to consider implementing some of these events and activities to raise awareness about P.A.D.  Included in this tool kit are examples of the Stay in Circulation campaign materials that you can use to help promote and publicize your event, as well as materials for distribution at your event.

Local Stay in Circulation Event Ideas
Identify Existing Opportunities in Your Community

• October is National Walking Month—consider working with your local partners to implement Walktober, a national walking campaign designed to:
  • Boost walking in just 31 days—from the national average of 4,000 steps a day to 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day;
  • Inspire individuals to make walking a priority—in October and beyond; and
  • Foster a commitment by organizations and institutions to place high value on walkable environments and supportive policies.
• Collaborate with existing community activities, such as organizing a Stay in Circulation team to join local walks sponsored by groups including the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association.
• Find out if the Tour de Cure, a series of cycling events held in more than 80 cities nationwide to benefit the American Diabetes Association, will be coming to your area.  It could be a valuable vehicle for raising awareness about P.A.D.

Engage Local Businesses and Other Organizations in Your Community

• Organize P.A.D. screening events and health fairs at businesses, faith-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, health centers, physician offices, community centers, and senior centers.
• Establish partnerships with retirement and/or assisted living communities in your area to host monthly P.A.D. informational sessions, walking clubs, and screening events for residents.
• Ask your local library to set up a special P.A.D. exhibit or organize a special reading center focused on cardiovascular disease.
• Partner with dance studios in your community to organize an adult Stay in Circulation dance to promote dancing as an effective way to maintain leg health and a fun way to "step out" P.A.D.
• Partner with local large businesses and corporations in your community or state, where employees do a lot of walking or standing, to promote P.A.D. awareness and leg health in the workplace.
• Identify local and state public golf courses in your community to approach about partnering to make Stay in Circulation campaign materials available in clubhouses, snack bars, and at club rental desks.
• Partner with your local grocery stores, pharmacies, book stores, salons, and spas to exhibit and reinforce the message that their clients need to take better care of themselves inside and out.  Leave Stay in Circulation campaign materials about P.A.D. for customers to pick up at the main desk or create a freestanding display.

Promote Involvement in Your Workplace

• Place articles or tips about physical activity on bulletin boards and in break rooms and the cafeteria.
• Ask your employer if Stay in Circulation posters and materials can be displayed.
• Ask your employer to host a Stay in Circulation presentation during lunchtime.
• Start a group to do stretching exercises during breaks.
• Put up posters about the benefits of walking up and down stairs.
• Arrange a group physical activity class at or near the workplace.

Generate Purple Footstep-Inspired Activities

• Organize a "Purple Footsteps Evening" or "Purple Footsteps Luncheon" with your favorite local restaurant to serve a creative "tasting menu" of heart healthy foods.
• Host a purple footsteps badge opportunity for local Girl Scout troops to encourage parents and grandparents to take care of their legs.

Encourage Your Neighborhood to Get Involved

• Start a walking, hiking, or stroller club.
• Create a "Grandparent Buddy" program—partner up with a "grandparent" and make plans to be active together.
• Lead active games or sports during a neighborhood picnic or block party.
• Start a group to take part in classes at a gym or fitness center.
• Start a group to take part in a walkathon.
• Ask officials to build tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, soccer fields, and swimming pools, or to consider building safe, well-lighted trails and activity stations in parks.

Involve Schools and Universities in Your Community

• Identify gerontology, nursing, medical, physical therapy, or social work programs through your local colleges and universities to secure a speaking opportunity to raise awareness about P.A.D among students.  You can also work with schools to secure student volunteers who can assist with community P.A.D. screenings and perhaps get public service credit for their participation.
• Ask your local high school art club or art classes to design artwork and advertisements for your events.

Work with Your State and Local Governments

• Work with your governor and/or mayor's office to issue a proclamation officially designating your community's participation in the Stay in Circulation campaign.
• Ask your state and local government officials to consider spearheading a P.A.D. awareness program or to issue a statement in support of your program.

Local Stay in Circulation Presentation Ideas
The Stay in Circulation Community Action Tool Kit provides you with materials to give an informative, educational presentation about P.A.D., including a PowerPoint presentation with talking points, handouts, and a compelling, informative video featuring real people talking about how they live with P.A.D.  Consider making a presentation to the following groups:

• Retirement/Assisted Living Communities and Senior Centers
  Retirement/assisted living communities and senior centers provide you with access to a targeted, captive audience to whom the issue of P.A.D. will be relevant.  Customizing your presentation with examples of how your audience can use existing resources in their communities (e.g., fitness centers, clubhouses, walking paths, etc.) will help "sell" the concept of doing what it takes to stay in circulation.
• Local Businesses
  Offer to organize a "brown-bag lunch" for employees where you will speak on the topic of P.A.D.
• Local Hospitals, Clinics, and Health Centers
  Work with local hospitals, clinics, and health centers to add a presentation to their roster of community education classes and include Stay in Circulation materials as part of their community health fairs.
• Community Centers
  Work with the person who coordinates the education classes or group meetings at your local clinic, adult education institution, or civic club to incorporate a presentation into their current activities or as a special event.

Attract Stay in Circulation Sponsor(s)
Schedule a presentation or event to tie in with a local, State, or national observance or event that has a connection to walking or cardiovascular health.  For example:

• September is National Cholesterol Education Month—Use the messages and materials distributed throughout the month of September on cholesterol awareness to make the connection between P.A.D., cholesterol, heart attack, and stroke.
• October is National Walking Month—October is a perfect time to implement a comprehensive walking campaign. Temperatures are moderate and the colors are spectacular.  Vacations are over and the holidays have not yet arrived, making it an ideal time to get people into a regular walking routine that will carry them right through winter.
• November is National Diabetes Month—Encourage people with diabetes to learn more about P.A.D.
• December/January New Year's Resolutions—The beginning of a new year is a great time to promote the benefits of instilling healthy habits, which for many include making more time for walking and other forms of exercise.  Use the New Year to educate people about P.A.D. and to encourage them to make a resolution to take better care of their legs.
• February is American Heart Month—Help make the connection between heart health and leg health.  Also use this month as an opportunity to inform people that cardiovascular disease does not stop at the heart.
• May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month, American Stroke Month, and Mother's Day.  Women's Health Week is also in May—Take advantage of the messages and materials distributed throughout the month of May on the issues of high blood pressure, stroke, and Mother's Day to raise the issue of P.A.D. to the surface and to make the connection between P.A.D., heart attack, and stroke.