Walk Wednesdays

Mercy Health Stepping Out Program, The Healthy Community Partnership, and YSU Campus Recreation’s Community Recreation Graduate Assistant Dalton Campana are excited to invite the community to this year’s free walking class in downtown Youngstown. The Walk Wednesdays walking group will meet outside of The Mocha House in Downtown Youngstown and then walk together to Wean Park every Wednesday, weather permitting, and will continue until the weather becomes too cold to walk. The City of Youngstown’s YO! App will be providing Promo Codes to Walkers every month, which can be redeemed at over 20 city businesses.

This and several other free outdoor walking classes are part of the Healthy Community Partnership’s Walk the Valley Initiative in partnership with Mercy Health’s Stepping Out Program. Regular participation in outdoor walking activities will improve residents’ physical and mental health. Organized walks also connect walkers to their friends and neighbors through a shared activity, which helps to create a sense of community and belonging.  Walks like this are also ways to promote and use local park facilities that are often underused in local communities.

Anyone in the Mahoning Valley is invited and encouraged to attend and invest in their fitness and wellbeing one step at a time.

Questions or comments can be directed to Robin Perry, Network Coordinator at the Healthy Community Partnership (rperry@cfmv.org), Doris Bullock, Mercy Health Stepping Out (dibullock@mercy.com or 330-720-3293),  or Dalton Campana, YSU Community Recreation Graduate Assistant at the Healthy Community Partnership Parks and Green Spaces Action Team (dcampana@student.ysu.edu).

The Healthy Community Partnership of the Mahoning Valley is bringing together organizations and individuals who share a commitment to a healthier, more equitable Mahoning Valley and improving health, wellbeing, and health equity for residents in Mahoning and Trumbull Counties. There are three focus areas through which HCP-MV is developing strategies to achieve long-term, sustainable change: Healthy Food Retail, Active Transportation, and Parks and Green Spaces. The generosity of the following funding partners support the efforts of the Partnership: Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, Western Reserve Health Foundation, the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation, the William Swanston Charitable Fund, and the Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley.

YSU Campus Recreation’s mission is to  provide creative and innovative, instructed, or self-led wellness, and recreational programming to meet the diverse needs of our students and the YSU community.

The mission of the Mercy Health Stepping Out program is to improve the overall health and wellbeing of Mahoning Valley residents by providing fitness programs, health screenings, informational programs, and food demonstrations. These are made possible by Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley, who provide funding so that programming is available without charge to any Mahoning Valley resident 18 years old or older.