November 4, 2013
Plano, TEXAS, November 4, 2013 — The numbers are in from the 5th Annual WALK! with Aegis Therapies. This year, the nationwide, five-day celebration of health and wellness achieved the largest participation results in its five-year history with more than 10,000 participants at over 650 locations. Participants walked a combined total 116,500 miles setting the WALK! with Aegis Therapies record.
One skilled nursing facility set an all-time high logging 20,700 miles walked at Golden LivingCenter – Portsmouth, Va. The WALK! miles are calculated based on the physical activity that participants can do including walking, dancing, tapping toes, waving arms in the air, and lifting their legs.
To motivate participants to be active, two inspirational celebrities joined the WALK! with Aegis Therapies team to lead WALK! activities: Chris Freytag, a well-known fitness expert, and Mitzi Dulan, America’s Nutrition® Expert, kicked off events in Minneapolis, Miami, and Kansas City. Leading and motivating participants with music, movement, and pom-poms, Chris and Mitzi went to a combined seven events and motivated more than 750 participants.
Golden Living’s Executive Chef and Director of Dining Services, Chef Darin Leonardson, joined the WALK! with Aegis Therapies team to provide a healthy snack and antioxidant smoothie after event activities as well as to talk about making healthy choices. He traveled across the nation to seven locations from Georgia to California motivating more than 700 participants.
“We are reaching more and more senior participants each year and as our WALK! with Aegis Therapies events continue to grow and evolve with more activities and information focused on active aging and healthy lifestyles,” said Martha Schram, President of Aegis Therapies. “These events, as well as the inspirational leaders who get involved, reinforce the importance of nourishing our emotional and intellectual health, in addition to maintaining our physical well-being.”
The WALK! with Aegis Therapies 2013 is presented by the EnerG™ by Aegis wellness program in support of the International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA) and Active Aging Week, which is celebrated each year during the last week of September in recognition of active aging and healthy living.
Many WALK! events included the local community. Local participants included the farmer’s market vendors that attended events in Augusta, Ga.; Charlie Jones, an ex-NFL football player, and the Fresno State University football players and cheerleaders attended the WALK! event in Fresno, Calif.; a high school choir serenading and cheering WALK! participants in Miami, Fla.
Local dignitaries also came out in full support. Georgia’s State Senator Hardie Davis, Kentucky State Representative Derrick Davis, California State Senator Andy Vidak, and U.S. Senator Roy Blunt’s office attended events in their districts. Many mayors and council members also took time to join in the variety of WALK! events.
Providing a safe and fun activity each day, WALK! with Aegis Therapies events were held at skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, independent living facilities, and other locations, including at-home participants being served by AseraCare agencies.
Each day, events highlighted one of the “dimensions of wellness” — physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, occupational, and social. Another dimension added to the program this year was environmental, which encouraged participants to think about others and the environment around them by weaving this theme into daily activities.
This year, Aegis Therapies administrative and corporate offices had hundreds of participants who walked a combined 1,832 miles in support of the campaign in Fort Smith, Ark., and Plano, Texas.
In its second year as a WALK! participant, AseraCare had full company participation with its 59 agencies whose staff and patients walked and tracked their miles during the week with more than 8,000 miles walked and 600 participants.
WALK! with Aegis Therapies was launched in 2009 as a one-day event. In 2010, the program expanded into a five-day event and has earned Aegis Therapies an ICAA Innovators Award for leading the way, setting new standards, and making a difference in the lives of older adults.