In collaboration with the White House Conference on Aging, the National Institute on Aging at NIH and more than 230 Federal, State, and local partners nationwide will celebrate the first annual Go4Life Month this September. We hope you will join us!
Go4Life® — based on research showing that exercise reduces the risk of many of the chronic conditions and disability associated with aging — is a national health campaign designed to help adults 50+ fit exercise and physical activity into their daily life. Go4Life Month seeks to introduce the campaign and its award-winning resources to a wider audience to encourage growing numbers of older adults to “Be Active Every Day!” All across the country, campaign partners will increase awareness and sponsor activities that engage community members, of all ages, in exercise and physical activities they enjoy.
Are there opportunities for you and your organization to participate in Go4Life? Absolutely! Whether you have your own practice or work in a clinical setting or community center, Go4Life can liven up your programming! Why not give one of these activities a try?
- Hold a Go4Life-themed event where people can try different forms of exercise, such as dance, strength training, chair exercises, or yoga.
- Sponsor a health fair, and include free Go4Life materials.
- Show the free Go4Life Exercise DVD in the break room or waiting room or as part of an exercise class.
For more suggestions, check out this full list of activity ideas! This list can be found on the interactive Go4Life website — go4life.nia.nih.gov — along with sample exercises, success stories, and free materials to motivate older adults to exercise. To make them even more accessible for partners and interested organizations, we’ve created resources that you can download and print directly from the website. You also can order free print copies!
We will promote Go4Life Month throughout September using our Twitter account and YouTube channel. Send information about your activities for us to share and help us spread the word. We have many sample messaging to use. Consider promoting Go4Life Month in the following ways:
- Use #Go4Life and #Go4LifeMonth on Twitter and Instagram to show us how you’re celebrating the month.
- Create “selfie signs” and take pictures of attendees at your Go4Life Month event to share on Facebook and Instagram.
It’s an enormous task to encourage and empower adults to be more active, and one that will take all of us, working together, at the Federal, State, and local levels. Organizations like yours are key to providing access to local resources to help turn physical activity goals into reality. With you and our partners spread across the country, we can challenge older adults in our communities to Go4Life!
Tweet about it: Celebrate #Go4LifeMonth with @NIAGo4Life. Get inspired on the Be Active Your Way blog.