On October 12, VFHY kicked off a new season of the Empower Series, featuring Lenore Skenazy, president and co-founder of Let Grow, the leading childhood independence advocacy organization, and Kori Johnson, program and engagement manager at Safe Routes Partnership, an organization dedicated to making it safe for all kids to walk and roll in their daily lives. They joined us for a discussion on how we can remove the barriers that prevent youth from leading active lives.

Here are the top three takeaways from the webinar for anyone seeking to create change in their community:

Small steps can have a big impact. Lenore and Kori both shared small but mighty initiatives they observed in their communities. For instance, Let Grow encourages schools to start “play clubs,” keeping the building open for an hour or two before or after school and letting students enjoy some unstructured play. It’s a simple way to give kids a chance to get exercise, strengthen their social skills, and learn to solve problems independently.

Another benefit to starting small: Cost will not be a barrier. Many other avenues for helping kids get active, such as organized sports, are costly and not accessible to all families – but any community can implement these simple changes, and any family can engage with them.

Get creative. Both organizations shared barriers to change and the innovative solutions they found to overcome them.

One barrier Safe Routes Partnership often experiences is a lack of infrastructure, such as sidewalks and crosswalks, that makes it safe for children to walk and bike independently. They’ve responded with a number of innovative initiatives, like using horses to teach kids how to cross the street safely.

“We get that [barriers] are there, but we also don’t stop the conversation. It’s like, ‘okay this is a challenge, but here’s how we can address it.’ That’s the way we approach things,” Kori said.

Get the whole community involved. It’s not just up to parents, educators, or public health professionals to empower youth to make healthy choices – it is everyone’s responsibility.

Kori shared one story that perfectly captures the impact of community involvement: the “bike bus.” A bike bus consists simply of a group of children riding their bikes together to a set destination, guided by an adult rider. A bike bus provides safety in numbers, so it’s a great solution for a child or parent who doesn’t feel comfortable riding on their own. Kori witnessed a bike bus in action in Arlington, where the group was initiated by a mother and daughter in their neighborhood. Rather than an official Safe Routes Partnership program, the bike bus is an “organic, community-led event.”

Don’t miss our next Empower Series webinar, “Transforming Systems to Adequately Address Food Insecurity,” on November 16!

Register now to save your spot: https://www.vfhy.org/event/transforming-systems-to-adequately-address-food-insecurity/