LETS WALK
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Mission Statement
Enriching lives with Activity and positive socialization. We are a volunteer dependent, grant and donor funded service that provides companions, to get adults outside their home for a walk on a routine basis to promote health, wellness and positive social interactions.
About This Cause
Let’s Walk is a fabulous new concept to promote health and wellness in a population that is vulnerable to decline due to inactivity. As of 2022 there were 55.6 million adults over 65 years of age. 78.7% reported sedentary or low activity lifestyle, according to a study reported by the Center for Disease Control. The National Institute of Health (NIH) states that walking is the most cost effective and accessible means of exercise and that it helps maintain physical and cognitive independence in old age by preventing various health problems. NIH also ranks sedentary lifestyle as a threat to public health and reports that inactivity is the 2nd leading cause of death, behind cigarette smoking. Walking is cost effective and helps maintain physical and cognitive independence (NIH 2022). Walking can lower your risk for age related diseases, improve your balance and coordination, increase your confidence, and improve your social life (Better health 2022). We all know that walking is great for our health, wouldn’t it be wonderful to make a difference in your neighbors quality of life by simply going for a walk with them? “Let'sWalk” connects qualified walkers with trained volunteers. The volunteer will meet the walker at their home and assist them with a walk in their yard or neighborhood. The service is free. Lynn McCollum-Lasher, a Physical Therapist, developed the service after working in homecare for 25 years. A consistent pattern of limited follow through for walking after discharge was noted as a reason for readmission due to functional decline. Let’s Walk will help people maintain the skills required to get out in the community and to engage with family and friends. Participation is open to everyone. Each walker will be assessed by a therapist for the ability to safely participate in the program. Each volunteer will undergo a background check and a 1 hour training session. Let’s Walk provides a valuable resource for the community which will improve the health of a vulnerable population. It will also provide a meaningful, easily accessible volunteer opportunity for service minded individuals to assist their neighbors. Both the walker and volunteer will benefit from the social interaction as well as the health benefits of walking. As of 12/31/24, we have assisted with 3,175 walks and 100% of participants surveyed strongly agreed that the service contributed to their overall health and quality of life. We have 220 volunteer trained to assist and a waiting list for both groups. The goal is to complete 5,000 more walks in 2025. Funding for the program comes entirely from grants, sponsorships and generous private donors and is always free to participants. We are an IRS nonprofit, 501c3. We are looking for volunteers and walkers in the Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester areas of South Carolina. We are also seeking donations to support our expansion of services trying to meet our budget of $151,099 for 2025. These funds will support: walker assessments by a licensed therapist, training in the tri-county area for new volunteers, background checks, management of data collected by volunteers each walk, insurance to cover all participants, administrative assistance to organize data and connections between walkers and volunteers, and marketing supplies to share information about the service to expand participation.