Celebrated the second Saturday in June each year, Family Health & Fitness Day is a nationwide celebration of the essential role local parks and recreation plays in keeping individuals, families and communities healthy and active. This year, Family Health & Fitness Day falls on Saturday, June 10, and we want YOU to help us celebrate!
This annual campaign is an opportunity for everyone — including park and recreation agencies, community members, healthcare providers, public health communities and sponsors — to discover, embrace and share the power of parks and recreation in promoting family health and well-being.
Parks and recreation is essential to family health and well-being for a variety of reasons. People, including children and youth, who use parks and open spaces are three times more likely to achieve the recommended levels of physical activity than non-users. Additionally, access to parks and green space correlates to reductions in stress, depression, blood pressure and risk of chronic disease. As a result, parks and recreation leads to better health outcomes that correlate to reductions in reliance on medications, trips to the hospital and medical costs.
Let’s celebrate and promote these benefits together through Family Health & Fitness Day! We encourage agencies everywhere to participate by inviting families to get active and healthy at their local park, trail, recreation center or other public spaces on June 10.
You can safely host an event, such as a family fun walk or run or a farmer’s market. You can plan a health and wellness fair filled with activities, games and resources that emphasize the importance of family health and well-being. You can offer a special group exercise class outside at a park or create a scavenger hunt for families to discover local ways to get active and connect with the outdoors. You even can simply encourage community members to engage with your local trails or facilities through your social media platforms. Essentially, there are limitless opportunities to be as creative and fun as you’d like, and we want to help you be successful!
Need Ideas for Promoting Family Health & Fitness Day in Your Community?
We are thrilled to share an updated toolkit to help you plan, promote and celebrate this campaign in your community. The 2023 Family Health & Fitness Day Outreach Toolkit is designed to help you generate positive media coverage and support for your Family Health & Fitness Day activities.
The toolkit offers research highlighting the health and wellness benefits of parks and recreation, as well as template press releases, social media materials, web and email communication templates, and a sample timeline for planning and implementation purposes. This year, the toolkit also includes a detailed evaluation section that can be used to measure the impact of your Family Health & Fitness Day activities and an opportunity to officially register your event with NRPA.
We hope this toolkit inspires you and provides you with the resources you need to start planning your Family Health & Fitness Day celebrations for June 10, 2023! To get started, explore the toolkit and stay tuned for additional resources to come. Be sure to tag NRPA on on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and use #NRPAFamilyHealthDay to share how you’re celebrating!
Are you planning to celebrate Family Health & Fitness Day 2023? If so, we want to hear from you! Help us tell the story of Family Health & Fitness Day by Registering Your Event with NRPA! Simply complete the brief survey, which is also embedded in the toolkit, to share the creative and fun activities you have planned this year. This allows us to better track the reach and impact of our campaign across the country, helping to demonstrate the vital role that parks and recreation play in keeping communities healthy.
If you have any questions related to Family Health & Fitness Day, please contact Cina Makres, NRPA program specialist.