Sunday Parkways with Kaiser Permanente

Sunday Parkways! This event is a great resource for members of the Portland community because it encourages people to discover their city and the accessibility of healthy choices while encouraging economic development through vendors. Kaiser Permanente, who prides itself on being connected to the community and promoting a healthy lifestyle, is putting its passion into practice with events like this. Weekly Parkways is a great event that benefits the community greatly by providing residents with the chance to get out, exercise, and communicate with their fellow community members.

Approximately 85,480 Portland area residents and visitors participated – through walking, biking, jogging, and roller blading – at four Sunday Parkways in 2013. This event is about more than exercising; it is also about getting the community involved in becoming healthier together. Numerous research studies show that it is easier for people to start exercising when they have a partner to do it with. It is hard to take the first step alone but if there is someone by your side, in the same situation, it is not only easier, but more fun! Sunday Parkways offer an opportunity for people from all corners of the city to come together and have fun exercising, hula hooping, rock climbing, playing games like soccer, volleyball, tetherball, utilizing climbing structures for children, etc. There are booths set up along the parkway outside different types of businesses, offering education on healthy food choices and lifestyle change. Others booths distribute promotional merchandise. By funding and supporting community events like this, Kaiser is encouraging and educating people to make healthy choices and find easy ways to incorporate health into daily living. A big part of this event ties into the idea of built environment, which directly affects a person’s ability to make and maintain healthy choices.