Downtown Springfield Association (DSA) was awarded one of 20 Community Change Micro Grants by America Walks for use in 2019. DSA is using the funding to partner with the City of Springfield and the Springfield-Greene County Health Department to promote walking downtown.
Throughout downtown, street signs now encourage visitors to explore downtown by foot. The signs include an estimate of how long it will take them to walk to their favorite destinations.
“The authentic character of our historic buildings and the concentration of 60 restaurants, 20 pubs and clubs, two dozen retailers, 16 movie screens and 5 live theatre venues have created a very walkable and enjoyable experience for our residents, workers and guests,” said Rusty Worley, executive director of the DSA. “We are excited to partner with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, Public Works and City of Springfield Public Information Office on this new program to encourage everyone to explore our great public spaces and local businesses. DSA is grateful for America Walks’ recognition of Center City’s progress and its support for enhancing walkability.”
According to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, walking is a simple way to improve your health. Just 30 minutes of walking 3 times a week has been shown to burn calories, lower your blood sugar, improve immunity and increase life span.
The Community Change grant program supports local efforts to create safe, accessible, and enjoyable places to walk and be physically active for all community members. Since its beginning in 2015, this grant program has provided funds for a variety of projects demonstrating the creativity and passion of walking champions across the US.
Downtown Springfield Association was selected from over 600 applications for projects that demonstrate the passion, creativity, and commitment of local walking champions. With support from partners, including the Juliet Ashby Hillman Foundation, Lyft, the Missouri Health Foundation, the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD), and WalkBoston, 20 projects will be supported in 2019. Awardees will work with America Walks and other members of the Every Body Walk! Collaborative to successfully complete their projects and share their lessons with other community change agents. While the projects and programs work to improve walkability, the results of each grant will have a positive change on many areas of that community.
About America Walks: America Walks is a 20-year-old national non-profit organization dedicated to empowering communities and advocates to create safe, accessible, and enjoyable places to walk and be physically active for all. The organization provides its diverse network of over 30,000 advocates and hundreds of local, state, and national organizations, with the tools, resources, and experts needed to build capacity, gain experiences, and successfully promote walking and walkability. Learn more at americawalks.org.