Nutrition in Education Advocacy

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Advocacy in Action

Today, the American Heart Association is pushing the Safe Route to School bill, in person, on the fax-lines and over the phone. The message the AHA is promoting is “give America’s kids the right of way to a healthy life” by preserving the program in the federal transportation bill.

Walking is a great way to promote health, and walking to school is a fantastic way for children to be more active. Any grandparent will tell you they walked 15 miles, bare foot, up hill both ways to school! While this is (usually) an exaggeration, it is part of what kept our older generations healthy. In their school-days, children were able to walk to school, even if there were no footpaths, because the roads were less congested, and drivers much more conscious of pedestrians, as they were commonplace. Today, with out footpaths, it is simply unsafe for children to walk. For the vast majority of Kentucky, these footpaths do not exist.






The fate of Safe Routes to School, which helps communities build safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike paths that allow kids to be more physically active, is still up in the air. But thanks to your action, we are making progress. Just last week, the Senate included a provision in its transportation bill that would ensure that local governments and school systems are able to access critical funds to make communities safer for bicycling and walking. But our work is far from over until a final bill is passed and signed. 
 - Clarissa Garcia, AHA

Today I have done my part by faxing Representative Chandler and Senators McConnell and Paul the document above. You too can download the fax and personalize it with your own details by clicking here, to send to your Representatives and Senators, or you can call the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) to connect with your legislators. 

Labels: Advocacy in Action

by E Pace at 11:57 AM |