Competencies

Project Spotlight: Talk before the Walk

CurriculumMission

GirlTrek is a national organization seeking to rally 1,000,000 Black women and girls to get active by 2018 in order to fight obesity in African American communities.

Population

GirlTrek focuses on fighting the obesity epidemic in African American women and girls.

Over 150,000 supporters have committed to GirlTrek’s cause of community-based health promotion.

College students, church members, and urban community members have all committed to 30 minutes of exercise each day.

Methods

GirlTrek leads walking campaigns, each centered around a unique challenge (e.g., giving up an unhealthy habit for Lent).

Each challenge includes a multi-week commitment to walk 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week.

A strong volunteer network recruits walkers using social media, grass-roots organizing and advocacy.

Empowerment of women is the key to GirlTrek’s success.

Scope of work

New Challenges: Developing the Give. It. Up. Walking challenge Curriculum Development: Creating the 12 mini-lesson “Talk

before the Walk” Curriculum. Health Promotion: Attending monthly Trek Meets with local

GirlTrek participants. Recruitment: Developing a list of 100 largest churches in the US

for recruitment into future walking challenges

Describing the characteristics of a population-based health problem (e.g. equity, social determinants, environment)

Soliciting community-based input from individuals and organizations

Conveying public health information using a variety of approaches (e.g. social networks, media, blogs)

Using information technology to collect, store, and retrieve data

Collaborating with community partners to promote the health of the population

ConclusionThe skills gained in during this placement were extremely valuable. I gained a greater understanding of setting and achieving goals, developing communication skills to ease the work process, and the importance of collaborative processes in order to create impactful change.

GirlTrek seeks to empower women to make changes in their lives. I was honored to have worked with this organization in addressing the health crisis in African American communities. Even small steps are big steps!

Project Methods

Overall Placement Outcomes

The development of the Give. It. Up. Challenge, encouraging women to walk during lent, and give up one unhealthy habit for 40 days.

Recruitment of leadership from 100 of the largest African American churches in the nation to encourage healthy behaviors in their churches.

Talk before the Walk curriculum to be accessed by Trek leaders for local walking groups.

Promotion of the GirlTrek mission and obesity prevention in communities nationwide.

Acknowledgements: I’d like to thank Dr. Ariela Freedman for her ever insightful and funny academic advice & Vanessa Garrison and Morgan Dixon for knowing the best roads to take to get the job done, and always being real.

Literature Review

Researching Adult Learning Theory to understand the most fitting ways to structure lessons.

Gathering Credible information

In order to address the barriers to being active that women face, women were consulted about topic areas for lessons

Information was gathered through social media websites, and the GIrlTrek Locker Room site.

Developing Curriculum

Each mini-lesson answered questions posed by Trekkers

Lessons were all to be delivered in 5-7 minutes

Lessons included short assessments to test changes in women’s knowledge

Implementing Curriculum

Curriculum will be made available to Trek Leaders nationwide through the GirlTrek Locker Room website.

Project Rationale

This curriculum development project was requested in order to meet the needs of Trekkers before their daily walks.

There are 12 mini-lessons. Each lesson uses Adult Learning Theory, formal and informal assessments to address learners’ common questions.

Lessons are designed with one main idea, and aim to increase knowledge levels of walkers.

Each lesson is delivered to small groups of walkers by a GirlTrek Trek Leader

The curriculum will be made available on the GirlTrek website for Trek Leaders to access.

Trekker’s Common Questions

Lesson topics were developed based on the needs of actual GirlTrek Participants through phone conversations, social media, and the GirlTrek website.

“How many minutes should I walk each day? ”

“ What is the best way to stretch before and after my walk?”

“ What foods should I eat after my walk to keep my metabolism up?

“How do I count the calories in my food?”

New Challenges

A walking challenge titled “Give. It. Up.” was developed targeting African American women in religious communities. Give. It. Up. is centered around Lent. In conjunction with walking, women are also encouraged to give up one unhealthy eating habit. Women use social media to chronicle their walking journey, encourage other women, and log walking progress.

Curriculum Development

The “Talk before the Walk” curriculum was designed to increase women's knowledge (e.g., knowledge of nutrition, stretching ,meditation, and how to pace walking speed).

This curriculum will be made available through the GirlTrek website for Trek Leaders.

Health Promotion

Local Trekkers were encouraged to attend themed 5K Trek Meets in the Atlanta area. During Trek Meets health topics including nutrition, exercise, and developing healthy habits were discussed Trekkers were encouraged to bring family members to treks, and attend the local farmers market after the trek.

Participant Recruitment

A list of the 100 largest African American churches in the United Stated was compiled. This list will be used to recruit women, and encourage them to participate in GirlTrek’s efforts. Church leaders were specifically recruited because of the influence that they have in churches. Women were directed to the GirlTrek Locker Room: a website tracking participant progress. Women were also notified of upcoming GirlTrek events. A Flyer for the current “We are Harriet” Treks

Girls Walking in a Detroit Community Trek

Take a Walk, Join a Movement: Obesity Prevention Through Education and Empowerment

Student: Felicia M. Blocker Agency Mentors: T. Morgan Dixon & Vanessa Garrison, Faculty Mentor: Ariela Freedman

GirlTrek

Overall Placement Significance