Downtown on the Move

Healthy Buncombe's Downtown on the Move program was awarded the "Sparkle Award" by the North Carolina Public Health Association as a model health education program at this year's annual meeting in September. The program has provided an innovative approach, bringing a wide variety of partners together to 1) help small businesses identify and plan low- or no-cost wellness programs, 2) unite small businesses to offer programs that they could not provide alone, and 3) increase community infrastructure to promote wellness via well-marked downtown walking trails and access to resources such as on-line toolbox for employers.

Interim Buncombe County Health Director, Sharon West accepts the "Sparkle Award" from the North Carolina Public Health Association for the "Downtown on the Move" Program.

The collaboration among city and county government, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, community supported agriculture programs, and a university is a highly replicable program that would benefit many NC communities.  For more information about Downtown on the Move, contact Terri March at 250-5047 or terri.march@buncombecounty.org.