For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Rochester City Councilmember Mitch Gruber invited to
Active People, Healthy NationSM Champions Institute
Rochester, New York – In support of the Active
People, Healthy Nation℠ Initiative, Smart Growth America (SGA) and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Nutrition,
Physical Activity, and Obesity announced today that City Councilmember Mitch
Gruber will be part of the inaugural class of the Active People, Healthy Nation℠
Champions Institute (Champions Institute). The Champions Institute is a program
created to help motivated local elected officials equitably define, design,
build, and evaluate Complete Streets in their communities. Councilmember Gruber
was selected, as one of over 20 local elected officials from across the United
States (and its territories).
“Being selected to the inaugural class of the Champions
Institute is in recognition of Mitch’s commitment to making Rochester a more
equitable, accessible, and viable community for all residents,” said John
Robert Smith, Senior Policy Advisor at Smart Growth America, and the former
mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. “Councilmember Gruber will learn valuable
skills throughout the program, and share his own insights in developing more
activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations.”
Over the next six months, participants in the Champions
Institute will attend virtual learning sessions that will make them experts in
equity-based principles and train them on the fundamental steps to take to
achieve activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations in their community,
from envisioning to implementation. Participants will also learn about best
practices and challenges from across the country, as they grapple with
different strategies in a collaborative and supportive peer-learning
environment.
Local leaders who are selected for the Champions Institute
will have the opportunity to learn from a broad array of national experts and
former local elected officials in the areas of public health, policy, street
design, and project implementation. At the completion of the inaugural class,
participants will be experts in promoting community improvements to create
safer streets for all users including pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders,
and motorists. Participants will be prepared to support plans, policies, and
funding that promote the CDC's Active People, Healthy Nation℠
Initiative of expanding activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations, in
their communities.
After participants complete their work in the Champions
Institute, SGA will provide continuing support to the local champions as they
serve their communities. They will act as emissaries to other local leaders,
sharing their expertise and ideas to grow a network of Active People, Healthy
Nation℠ Champions across
the country who will build and expand activity-friendly routes to everyday
destinations across the country.
“As chair of the City of Rochester’s Park and Public Works Committee and an
advocate for complete streets, I am excited to have been selected to join the
Active People, Healthy Nation Champions Institute to learn from experts across
the country,” said Councilmember Gruber “In Rochester, we are encouraging
people of all ages to be active in the community through initiatives like Play
Walk, the 10-Minute Walk to Parks Program, and the expansion and revitalization
of many of our trails. I plan to use what I learn in the institute to help
support efforts such as these and better implement the Rochester 2034 Plan.”
This program is funded through a cooperative agreement
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition,
Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. This program is designed
to support the Active People, Healthy Nation initiative through developing more
activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations.
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CONTACT:
BJ Scanlon, robert.scanlon@cityofrochester.gov
Steve Davis, sdavis@smartgrowthamerica.org