Foundation Wins 2008 Trails Award

POTTSTOWN AREA HEALTH & WELLNESS FOUNDATION
WINS AMERICAN TRAILS 2008 TRAILS FOR HEALTH AWARD


December 30, 2008, Pottstown, PA – The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation has received the 2008 Trails for Health Award presented by American Trails at its National Trails Symposium held in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Foundation was chosen to receive the award as a result of its contributions to the Schuylkill River Trail including funding part of its construction and proactively promoting it as a tool for health and fitness.

This prestigious award, presented every other year at the symposium, recognizes a community’s commitment to improving access to trails and promoting their use and importance for increasing physical activity. This award also honors a commitment to long term change through community design, trail planning, physical activity education and promotion, and increased trail use.

The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation was nominated for the 2008 Trails for Health Award by The Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area. “The Foundation believes that trails are an important part of a regional recreation plan and they have made a significant effort over the past two years to increase trail use, heighten awareness of the trail, and encourage physical activity on the trail,” comments Bob Folwell, Trails Project Manager at The Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area. “This type of proactive involvement at a Foundation level is very unique. The Pottstown Foundation not only gave grant money to help build a portion of the trail, but they also invested in interpretive signs, and brochures that encourage people to use the trail. It was a cool project and we felt the Foundation deserved recognition for its efforts. We are thrilled to have been part of this wonderful partnership that will benefit our community.”

The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation has provided over $160,000, both in grant funding and project costs in support of the trail since 2006. It invested additional funds to install interpretive signs along the Schuylkill River Trail from Riverfront Park in Pottstown, across the Berks/Montgomery line to Morlatton Village. The signs, which were modeled after a “best practice” developed in Chicago for its lakefront trails, are designed to be informative yet motivational to those using the trail for exercise. Signs are at each entrance to the trail—Riverfront Park and Morlatton Village—and give an overview of how to use the trail’s
health benefits. Takeaway brochures displayed in a rack give tips and facts about walking and the calories an individual can burn. There are three additional smaller signs along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park, Grosstown Road and Morlatton Village that provide examples of the food and calories walkers can burn by walking at a moderate pace along different portions of the trail.

“We are very proud that we have received this award, but we share the honor with three local groups whose expertise and cooperation were vital to the project’s success,” states Dave Kraybill, Executive Director of the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. “We had a vision to provide motivational information on the trail and with the dedicated help of The Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area we were able to bring it to life. We also had the cooperation of the Borough of Pottstown and the Montgomery County Parks & Heritage Services Department. Everyone’s willingness to see this project through to the end has ultimately benefited our entire community.”

About American Trails
American Trails is the only national, nonprofit organization working on behalf of all trail interests, including hiking, bicycling, mountain biking, horseback riding, water trails, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, trail motorcycling, ATVs, snowmobiling and four-wheeling. American Trails members create and protect America''s network of interconnected trails. Since its formation in 1988, it supports local, regional, and long-distance trails and greenways, whether they are in backcountry, rural or urban areas. Its purposes range from training trails advocates to increasing accessible trail opportunities for persons with disabilities.

About Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation
The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation’s mission is to enhance the health and wellness of area residents by providing education, funding and programs that motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyles. For more information on the Foundation as well as grant information, visit www.pottstownfoundation.org. For motivating information and delicious healthy recipes, click on Mission Good Nutrition, the Foundation’s 30-minute television program promoting healthy living and lifestyles that airs on Channel 28 PCTV every Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

About Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area
The Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area celebrates the rich culture and history of the Schuylkill River watershed as one of America''s most significant cultural and industrial regions. The boundaries of the Heritage Area cover the Schuylkill River watershed in Schuylkill, Berks, Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. This region is nationally significant for the role that its people, places, and events played in the American, Industrial, and Environmental Revolutions. For more information go to www.schuylkillriver.org.