Summer slow down!

We have been busy this summer, but like all good things it must come to an end! (To bad we never really got the sun, except over the holiday weekend!).

Our intern has completed his time at the city. He has collected and mapped more information then we ever could have imagined. Everyone is pleased with his data and professionalism. We presented the project to the city council and recieved some good encouragement from them. We have come up with a delemma on how we are going to keep the data current. If anyone has any ideas shoot me a comment. I would love to here from you.

Eagle Ridge Golf Course has had Get Fit Itasca promotional materials this summer. The restaurant manager has been serving up some healthy specials. She rearranged the menu so that the healthier options are at the top. Check out their $3.99 Friday night specials. Yummy!

River Place Park has been hoping since the makeover. Thank you to the City of Grand Rapids, School District 318, Grand Rapids Jaycees, Cape Baker Lions Club, and Get FIt Itasca volunteers for continuing with the up keep. I have been in contact with the school district and we are still discussing a final plan for the park.

The Get FIt Itasca leadership team will be meeting in two weeks to discuss what moves the team will take next. Stay tooned for more exciting projects!

Don’t forget to show your support at the Urban Chicken vote on September 14 5:00 at City Hall. Get Fit Itasca will support and encourage anyone who wishes to take action for local healthy food options!

Summer slow down!

We have been busy this summer, but like all good things it must come to an end! (To bad we never really got the sun, except over the holiday weekend!).

Our intern has completed his time at the city. He has collected and mapped more information then we ever could have imagined. Everyone is pleased with his data and professionalism. We presented the project to the city council and recieved some good encouragement from them. We have come up with a delemma on how we are going to keep the data current. If anyone has any ideas shoot me a comment. I would love to here from you.

Eagle Ridge Golf Course has had Get Fit Itasca promotional materials this summer. The restaurant manager has been serving up some healthy specials. She rearranged the menu so that the healthier options are at the top. Check out their $3.99 Friday night specials. Yummy!

River Place Park has been hoping since the makeover. Thank you to the City of Grand Rapids, School District 318, Grand Rapids Jaycees, Cape Baker Lions Club, and Get FIt Itasca volunteers for continuing with the up keep. I have been in contact with the school district and we are still discussing a final plan for the park.

The Get FIt Itasca leadership team will be meeting in two weeks to discuss what moves the team will take next. Stay tooned for more exciting projects!

Don’t forget to show your support at the Urban Chicken vote on September 14 5:00 at City Hall. Get Fit Itasca will support and encourage anyone who wishes to take action for local healthy food options!

Moving Forward!

Get Fit Itasca is moving forward in both healthy eating and active living. Thursday is the big day for the Community Clean-up at River Place Park. 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. All are welcome and needed to help with this great project.

Get Fit Itasca is pairing with Eagle Ridge Golf Course to focus on healthy eating. Through rearranging the menu and advertising healthy options we are hoping to increase the sales of more healthful foods at this local concession stand!

River Place Park Community Clean-up Day

July 23, 2009 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Get Fit Itasca will be hosting a Community Clean-up Day at River Place Park, located at the former Riverview School Site. Volunteers are needed!

The day’s schedule is as follows:

8:00 am to 1:00 pm Construction
             
During this time we will need volunteers that have some knowledge on building and working with tools. 
 
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Gardening
                 
Please bring gardening tools: shovels, rakes & trimming shears. 
 
4:00 pm to 8:00 pm Spread Wood chips
 
Please bring wheel barrows, rakes, and shovels.

Supper will be served 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm or while supplies last.

We hope to see you there!

Did You know?

The Learning Institute was a great opportunity to meet people and learn what others are doing in our line of work. Policy change was a big topic at the event. Policy change can occur on many different levels. When making changes in the community groups should look at both public and private policy. Leadership was the second hot topic. How do you get and keep strong leaders? We have come to the conclusion that we at Get Fit Itasca are doing well with using our leaders when their strengths are needed. tI is alright if everyone is not constantly in the front lines!

The GIS Project is making head way! Chris has mapped all of the sidewalks in Grand Rapids. He is now going to be going more into detail on trails. The data will include the condition, surface type, curbing, and slopes. Chris has been taking pictures of the town in areas that seem a little off. Did you know we have cement bench platforms with no benches and trees in the center of some sidewalks? Together we can make Grand Rapids, physically friendly!

The Healthy Eating Group is focusing their efforts on concession stands. The hope is to work with Eagle Ridge Golf Course over the summer.

River Place Park is having its ups and downs.  Home Depot has agreed to donate materials to repair the fence and broken ramp!  Thank you Grand Rapids Home Depot!  The city of Grand Rapids put up the new swings!  The tower has been repaired!  School District 318 painted over the graffiti, put new bolts in the slide, replaced the boards where thebottom had been exposed, and replaced the burnt edging!  Thank you for all the hard work!  On a sad note, one of the swings S-hooks have come off, someone smashed the picnic table, and a large tractor tire keeps getting rolled into the swamp.

Stay tuned!

Travels

Grant and I will be traveling to Atlanta, Georgia this week to participate in the Pioneering Healthier Communities Learning Institute. The conference will give us an opportunity to network with others that are doing the same type of work in communities across the country. Grant was asked to be a part of a presenting group on creating safe & active spaces. He will speak primarily on the GIS Project and how the relationships formed to launch the project. What an honor for Get Fit Itasca to be asked to share one of our stories!

Last Friday evening Nancy & Jenny Flora, members of the McCarthy family, Mike Eckelman, Andy Bown, Katie Olquist, and myself wheel borrowed sand into River Place play ground.  Hawkinson Construction donated enough sand to refresh the box as well as fill in under the equipment to make the area safe.  Thank you so much for those that could help on such short notice!

Weekly Activity

A big thank you to Hawkinson Construction,who is so generously providing sand to refresh the sandbox at River Place. Also, to the City of Grand Rapids who will be providing the labor to replace the swings! The team is working on scheduling a day to have wood chips delivered. On this day we will host a Community Beautification Day. Our hope is that volunteers will come to help get some clean up done.  For the users of Face Book a Supporters of River Place Park group has been set up.  All the meeting notes are posted there!

The Healthy Eating Group will meet today at Eagle Ridge Golf Course 3:30pm to create a plan for the next move in the Get Fit Itasca: Greenway initiative. Anyone interested is welcome!

I am still trying to connect with someone from the South West side of town that would be interested in arranging a group of neighbors to complete the Community Healthy Living Index (CHLI) Survey. The research will help Get Fit Itasca identify the strengths and weaknesses the community of Grand Rapids has in regards to healthy eating and active living.  If interested please contact Meghan Bown 37-1161 ext.237.

Up date!

It is exciting, our projects are moving forward at rapid speeds!

The intern, Chris from ICC, has started at the city of Grand Rapids and the project is under way. Grant and I will be meeting with him and the city monthly for updates.

The River Place Park at the former Riverview School site was a success. Many key players were able to attend and a plan was developed. Our goal is to make the equipment safe for the summer and focus on the long term after. Jeff Davies of the city will let us know what really needs to be done with the equipment. I have been contacting area service organizations to see if they would be willing to take a turn to watch over the park. The next meeting will be Wednesday May 27, 2009 6:00 pm at the Itasca Family YMCA Bruce Bauer Senior Center. Anyone interested is welcome. At the request of a few I will be creating a Face Book page for River Place.

Current Projects

Currently both sub groups, Healthy Eating and Active Living, are busy moving forward with community projects.

Healthy Living:  Get Fit Itasca: Greenway- After holding a Community Stakeholder’s Meeting, the team decided to move forward in tackling adding healthy, nutritious foods at area concession stands.  The group will meet May 11 at 6:30 pm.  Contact me for more information.

Active Living: Get Fit Itasca, City of Grand Rapids, and Itasca Community College have joined forces to map the city sidewalks and trails using  Information Systems (GIS).  The GIS Project will provide the city with maps that include the current conditions of all the sidewalks and trails.  

 Save the Park!  It has been brought to our attention that the play equipment at the former Riverview School site may be in jeopardy.  Our goal is to work together as a community to ensure the play equipment remains in the community for the benefit our children.  A meeting will take place May 20 6:00 pm at the Itasca Family.

The children’s Fair was a huge success!  We passed out 200 samples of carrots and 300 packages of carrot seed.  Fair goers were given information on the importance of family meal time and about 150 Resources Guides were distributed.  Brochures on family meal times remain in the lobbies of the Itasca Family YMCA and the Itasca Resource Center.

Thank you to all our volunteers that are  working hard ‘To engage all people in the Itasca Area to make healthy choices and participate in activities that improves their quality of life.”