By Kristina Alnajjar, Rural Program Associate
If you haven't heard of the Healthy People Alliance of Klickitat County and you live in Klickitat County--this is a wrong we need to right quickly. They are a great community group in south central part of the state busy at work fulfilling their mission to prevent and reduce chronic disease in their community by promoting Healthy Choices regarding nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco use through policy, systems and environmental change strategies.
This Alliance has been working to finish and connect the Little Klickitat River Trail. As written by Alysa Haas, AmeriCorps member serving as Community Health Promoter for Klickitat County Health Department, for the Sentinel, "Since the group's inception in 2009, the chronic disease prevention-focused Alliance has been working toward fully developing the trail as a safe, beautiful, and no-cost place for local residents to exercise. Yes you could join a gym, or get a pass to the pool, but walking is free. The Healthy People Alliance wants to make sure that everyone in Klickitat County can be physically fit, regardless of income."
In addition to developing this local trail for exercise, the Alliance collaborates withGoldendale and White Salmon Head Start in establishing a school garden and integrating nutrition into curriculum and is creating a free workplace wellness toolkit that local work-sites can access to adopt a work-site wellness program. We are happy to be partnering with such a strong, creative community group.
Just recently, they were honored by the Washington State Public Health Association as a 2011 Health Champion. They won the Community Category which signifies they have contributed significant time, effort and passion to making the community a healthier place. Check out the website to learn more about what this Alliance has done. We also want to congratulate this Alliance for all they do!
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