Park Hop: Lessons Learned and Applied

April 19, 2016 | Community News, Vineland

From April 9 through May 19, Vineland residents are being urged to “HOP ON” and enjoy a series of family friendly activities at their local parks. It’s the second annual Park Hop, sponsored by Live Healthy Vineland, Vineland Health Department General Mills, Inspera Medical Center and the Cumberland Cape County YMCA.

Park Hop will build on last’s year’s success and be better than ever thanks to lessons learned about promotion and organization and a team of college interns ready to apply them.

“Park Hop 2015 was a new venture and like all new things, some aspects worked well and others needed some tweaking,” said David Calderetti, project manager for New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Vineland and Live Healthy Vineland.

Three learnings concerned timing, organization and promotion.

1. This year, Park Hop takes place in the spring instead of summer. “Spring events should get residents in the habit of using the parks and also engage families while the kids are still in school,” said Calderetti.
2. Park Hop 2016 also will benefit from new partners and sponsors and student interns from Rowan and Stockton universities to tackle organization and coordination of activities.
3. Promotion is crucial. So the interns are flooding the schools with flyers and holding pep rallies to get students excited about Park Hop and the benefits of physical activity.

Activities include yoga at the library in downtown Vineland and volley ball, kick ball and Zumba in the parks. Yoga studios and karate facilities will give demonstrations to perhaps introduce new activities to residents.

“We invited businesses that are focused on health and fitness to take part. We will benefit from their participation and ideas,” said Calderetti. “Moving forward, we’d like to see the community take ownership of Park Hop.”

The April 9 kickoff featured games, prizes, crafts and food vendors from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm at Howard Pagliughi Park.

Park Hop Schedule:

• Yoga: Mondays, 6PM @ Giampietro Memorial Park; Wednesdays, 6PM @ Vineland Public Library Lawn
• Kickball: Tuesdays, 6PM @ Howard Pagliughi Park (Magnolia Park) softball fields
• Volleyball: Wednesdays, 6PM @ South Vineland Park
• Zumba: Thursdays, 6PM @ Landis Park

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