The Piedmont Community Health Coalition will “Spring into Health” with an incentive-based program set for April 8-May 6. The program is designed to connect the community with healthy eating and active living resources available in our area.

HEAL, the acronym for healthy eating and active living, has become the coalition’s catch phrase.

“It’s the essence of the activities we are promoting as we take on this great challenge of obesity,” Piedmont Health District Director Dr. Alexander Samuel said.

Samuel is part of the coalition that formed in 2013.

“We organized to address some of the community’s health needs,” Samuel said. “We decided to kick off with obesity prevention given its many downstream health consequences that include diabetes, various cancers, heart disease and stroke.”

In 2013 the coalition offered its initial health-related activity, Piedmont Out Walking, a three-month competitive walking and education program.

“This was a joint effort with the YMCA, health department and a few other groups,” Samuel said. “We had 500 individuals and 70 teams taking part. It was really the success of that program that spurred us on.”

The coalition spent the next two years developing its organization, making a five-year plan and creating a leadership team.

“Now we are ready to start doing the things listed in our plan,” Samuel said.

First on the list was an activity to connect the community with health and wellness resources.

Caitlin Miller, Prince Edward Extension Family and Consumer Sciences agent and coalition member, developed details of the “Spring into Health” plan.

“In this region our adult obesity rate is one-third of the population,” Miller said. “There is a want and need for people to get healthy, but a lot of people don’t know about the resources that are out there. This program is to help people get connected.”

The program is as simple as it sounds: To register call the Prince Edward Extension office to receive a detailed list of participating activities, then visit the sites that include James River State Park, Farmville Community Marketplace, Heart of Virginia Farmers Market, Central Virginia Community Health Center and Beulah M. Wiley Fitness Center, High Bridge Trail and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Family Nutrition Program Community Garden.

“Participants will receive a raffle ticket for every activity completed,” Miller said. “Each activity is a chance to win — the more you participate the more chances you have to win some great prizes.”

Participants also receive raffle tickets for attending classes and workshops, including Introduction to Geocaching, Poor Posture and the Benefit of Stretching, Boot Camp, Zumba Fitness, Aqua Zumba, Grow Your Own Garden Workshop, Healthy Kids Day and yoga and pickleball.

Each raffle ticket gives a participant a chance to win prizes that include the new Fitbit Alta, Fitbit Charge plus heart rate monitor, two passes to the Adventure Park at Sandy River Retreat, a one-month fitness club membership at any Progressive Therapy location, a one-month membership to Central Virginia Community Health Center, $50 gift card to purchase pastured pork products from Ripley Creek Farm and one-month membership to Southside Virginia Family YMCA.

The community as well as coalition members, Miller noted, are getting on board with the program.

“Longwood professor Tena Ewing teaches a class with a community outreach component,” Miller said. “Her class came up with a lot of great ideas and will set up the geocaching sites.”

The majority of the prizes were donated.

“With the exception of Fitbits, all the prizes were donated by local organizations highlighted in the program,” Miller said. “We also have a Centra rep in the coalition who was instrumental in getting us funding from Centra.”

Centra, Samuel noted, is an active partner in the coalition.

“We will be partnering with Centra in the next calendar year to conduct a community health needs assessment,” Samuel said. “We will gather the data over that summer, then analyze, collate and look at in relationship to statistics that describe our health district. The seven counties of the Piedmont Health District rank on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of overall health.”

Samuel believes this data will result in better health options for the community.

“This will lead to a community health improvement plan,” he said. “The coalition will serve as a sounding board to help develop that plan.”

The coalition sees its “Spring into Health” program as the first step on the path to better community health. Healthy eating and active living, Samuel believes, is also all-important step toward overcoming obesity.

“We’re speaking to what has become a national epidemic,” Samuel said. “We can’t solve the problem as individuals, state institutions, hospitals or particular organizations — it has to be done in cooperation with the community.”

To register for the free “Spring into Health” program call Prince Edward Extension at (434) 392-4246 or email cgracem@vt.edu.