Omaha, NE
about
Act!vate Omaha (AO) promotes active living by making physical activity easy and accessible through community design and education about healthy lifestyles. The partnership's vision is to create a nationally-recognized community where healthy living through active choices is a priority. The partnership's approach is to "brand" active living as a lifestyle behavior that everyone can adopt and to create awareness, advocacy, and excitement about activity and the importance of designing Omaha for active lifestyles. One of Omaha's unique characteristics is its readiness to engage businesses and community leaders in creating a physically active city
AO implemented a walking school bus program at two elementary schools, developed a citizens' action guide for neighborhood change for active living environments, and launched a bike friendly movement in Omaha. The movement includes developing a bike-route designation and street improvement plan, in addition to encouraging local businesses to promote bicycling amongst their employees. AO will continue to promote physical activity through local and regional media organizations. The AO partnership includes many key Omaha organizations and individuals who develop promotions and programs, develop tools for neighborhoods and employers, and implement its activities. The partnership is led by Our Healthy Community Partnership, with significant commitment and involvement of the Douglas County Health Department, Wellness Council of the Midlands, Omaha by Design, Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Omaha Pedalers Bicycle Club, Joslyn Castle Institute for Sustainable Communities, the National Park Service, Alegent Health, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, and many others.
AO promotes active living through a media campaign using newspaper ads, billboards, and radio placements that were developed by using social marketing techniques. Targeted campaigns include "Sprint through the Holidays," which is designed to keep Omahans active during the busy fall and winter seasons by providing weekly activities, information, healthy recipes, and tips through a website. The partnership reaches out to youth throughout the year by supporting "Club Possible," a physical activity and healthy eating curriculum through partnering organizations that provide after-school programs.
AO implemented a walking school bus program at two elementary schools, developed a citizens' action guide for neighborhood change for active living environments, and launched a bike friendly move- ment in Omaha. The movement includes develop- ing a bike-route designation and street improvement plan, in addition to encouraging local businesses to promote bicycling amongst their employees. AO will continue to promote physical activity through local and regional media organizations.
The AO partnership includes many key Omaha organizations and individuals who develop promotions and programs, develop tools for neighborhoods and employers, and implement its activities. The partnership is led by Our Healthy Community Partnership, with significant commitment and involvement of the Douglas County Health Department, Wellness Council of the Midlands, Omaha by Design, Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Omaha Pedalers Bicycle Club, Joslyn Castle Institute for Sustainable Communities, the National Park Service, Alegent Health, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, and many others.
our story
Boys Town National Research Hospital, an Act!vate Omaha (AO) partner, set out to help employees integrate physical activity into their daily routines. Faced with the challenge of keeping 500 employees around the Omaha Metro Area interested in a worksite wellness program throughout the year, Boys Town turned to AO's website to find options that were easy and accessible. They found Blue Cross and Blue Shield's (BCBS) Walking Works Program and adopted a Walking Works program at their many sites.
BCBS and AO helped Boys Town employees track their progress with pedometers and walking logs and motivated them by setting goals. Local businesses provided activity and nutrition-related incentives for employees as they reached their milestones Employees' logged weekly results and faxed them to a program coordinator for tracking. Word of mouth helped create energy among employees to strive for 10,000 steps a day.
A year later, a diverse set of employees across Boys Town's sites and departments were still walking. They formed walking groups within different departments, they walked during breaks in the workday, and they continued using their pedometers. In addition, the number of employee and family participants increased in the Annual Boys Town Memorial Day Run, which features a fivemile and one-mile run/walk for adults and a onemile fun run/walk for children ages 12 and under. Boys Town successfully created awareness in the importance of striving for 10,000 steps a day. Their employees got the message and got moving.
opportunities
Omaha, bordered to the east by the Missouri River, is a mid-sized city with a population of approximately 410,000. The city has a vibrant and philanthropic business community and its downtown is home to many of the Midwest's largest companies, including several on the Fortune 500. Omaha has an active and wellorganized wellness council among local employers. Urban neighborhoods surround the downtown, but the city and Douglas County tend to sprawl westward, with a highly-developed road network that favors motor vehicles over active travel (pedestrians and bicyclists). Main roads are high speed and can feel daunting to pedestrians and bicyclists.
Omaha has good trails that could potentially be used for recreation and as bicycle commuting routes, but these trails primarily travel north/south, rather than east/west. The challenge for cyclists becomes navigating the east/west road connections safely.
accomplishments
In Action
