Grinnell has been invited to make a full application to Healthways to become a Blue Zones Community. Grinnell Blue Zones project co-leaders Jennifer Jacobsen, Grinnell College wellness coordinator, and Cory Jackson, director of Grinnell Regional Wellness and Fitness programs, announced the invitation.
“The Blue Zones” is a book written by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic researcher who studied communities all over the world to find those communities where residents lived well into their nineties and even longer. Buettner summarized his findings and created the Power 9™, a pyramid of nine different small changes in individual lifestyle habits that have a big impact on a community. Grinnell’s Drake Community Library has this book in its collection.
“The Blue Zones project in Iowa goes hand-in-hand with Governor Branstad’s Healthiest State Initiative,” says Jackson. “Right now, 58 communities across the state of Iowa have been invited to apply to become one of a few Iowa communities to be named ‘Blue Zones.’ We’re already doing great things in Grinnell. Becoming a Blue Zones community would take us to the next level.”
The next level includes a community-wide survey of needs by Healthways-Gallup, funding for a full-time project coordinator, and creating initiatives that are collaborative, sustainable, and accessible to all members of the community.
More than 80 Iowa communities applied to be invited to make a full application to become a Blue Zones Community. Grinnell is one of 58 communities selected to move on to the next step of the process.
"We are meeting with several community leaders from organizations that have incredible projects and plans for our quality of life in Grinnell," says Jacobsen. "We're putting our effort into establishing a plan that is sustainable, collaborative, and accessible for all residents. We are already doing some pretty amazing things. Being a Blue Zones Community would help us take it to the next level."
The full application is due in early January. Grinnell still needs residents to register their support at the Blue Zones website www.bluezonesproject.com/citizens/signup.
"Community involvement is really important for this process,” says Jackson. “It’s all about working together to make changes in our community making it easier for residents to live healthier, happier lives. We need residents to register their support and to ‘friend us’ on Facebook to get involved.”
For more information about Grinnell Blue Zones and local efforts, please contact Jacobsen, 641-269-3704 or Jackson, 641-236-2998.
No comments:
Post a Comment