By: Mission Healthy Living
June 29, 2015
July is quickly approaching and here at the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation we’re gearing up for our second annual, On Your Park, Get Set, Go!™ contest!
The goal of the contest is to raise community awareness of local parks and increase usage to encourage people to lead healthier lifestyles. Each park will be competing for the highest number of votes throughout the month of July (gained through community usage) to win grant funds towards improvements in their park.
In 2014, Hickory Park (New Hanover Township) took first place as the inaugural winner of the contest with Exeter Community Park (Exeter Township) coming in second. Sunset Park (Upper Pottsgrove Township) took third and Pottstown Memorial Park (Pottstown Borough) placed fourth.
This year, we have 14 participating municipalities:
Boyertown Community Park, Borough of Boyertown*
Brown Street Park, Borough of Spring City*
Connie Batdorf Park, South Coventry Township
Douglass Park, Douglass Township/Montgomery Co.*
Ellis Woods Park, East Coventry Township*
Hollenbach Park, Upper Pottsgrove Township
Kenilworth Park, North Coventry Township*
Meadow Park, Borough of Schwenksville
Memorial Park, Borough of Pottstown*
New Hanover Community Park, New Hanover Township*
Old Timers Field, West Pottsgrove Township
Pineland Park, Exeter Township
Sanatoga Park, Lower Pottsgrove Township
Union Meadows East, Union Township
*Notes parks who participated in the inaugural 2014 On Your Park, Get Set, Go!™ contest.
Beginning July 1, park goers may vote by scanning their park’s QR code (will be posted at park) to earn 10 votes, taking a selfie at their park and posting it to the Mission Healthy Living (MHL) Facebook page or email it to OnYourPark@gmail.com for 10 additional votes, and voting online, earning their park two MORE votes. So, per day, one park goer could earn their park 22 votes, 32 on Saturdays (20 points for a QR scan on Saturdays) which is a double point day. Participants can also keep track of their park’s progress through real-time results found on the “Parks Contest” tab on MHL’s Facebook page.
Voting ends at dusk on July 31 and winners will be announced in early August.
A new feature of the contest this year is a donate aspect. Participants have the opportunity to directly contribute to their park’s campaign financially, by making donations to said park. Even more exciting, the Foundation will match donations, dollar for dollar, up to $2,000. Every park has a chance to win with a little enthusiasm and effort!
Each park is also required to host one physical activity event to jumpstart healthy living and park usage. At these events, participants will be given water bottles with individual codes that can earn their park 25 points on that day (one-time only). Keep checking the Foundation’s events page for more details on these events as we receive them.
This July, look for On Your Park, Get Set, Go!™ in a park near you and reap the benefits of everything your local park has to offer!