International Walk to School

Invite local physicians and Congressional members to participate.
International Walk to School Day is taking place next month on Wednesday, October 7, 2009. More than 1,700 schools are currently registered! You can register your school today at www.walktoschool.org/register .

This year, Kaiser Permanente is building on our successful collaboration from last year. Kaiser Permanente supports SRTS efforts as part of their Healthy Eating Active Living initiative. The organization's efforts to support International Walk to School Day this year include driving media attention to SRTS efforts at schools in their local communities, engaging clinicians to submit letters and op ed's to local news outlets, and promoting participation in walking and bicycling to school activities by employees and physicians. It is expected that Kaiser Permanente will participate in local Walk to School Day activities in nearly all of its regions this year.

As you are planning your event, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership encourages you to think about the bigger picture of who to invite. Inviting your Congressional members to your event is a great way to show them Safe Routes to School in action and to generate support for future funding. Check out the Partnership's step-by-step toolkit , which was created to assist you specifically with invitations to elected officials and gaining media attention. You can also follow the Kaiser Permanente model and invite local physicians, dressed in their white coats, to participate in your walk to school day event.