Newsletter Contents
Season's Greetings
Spotlight Cities & Towns
Tools & Resources
Funding Opportunities
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Greetings 2018! 
It's a brand new year and we all know what that means:  new year's resolutions! While the HEAL Campaign encourages goal setting throughout the year, we find it particularly important to mark the new year as a time to reevaluate your needs and priorities and determine how best to accomplish your healthy eating and active living goals. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you get a started on your new year's HEAL goals:
Updates - HEAL Peer-Learning Network
Last month's newsletter included a request for input and ideas as we develop a new peer-learning opportunity to help connect our cities and towns. This is a chance to learn from our informed network as you tackle your HEAL resolution goals. Your feedback and  questions will help us tailor our discussion to fit your interests and priorities. Do you want more information on how to start a community garden? Are you interested in incorporating HEAL into your city or town's comprehensive plan? Do you want more resources on healthy activities for older adults? Send us your questions, and we'll leverage the expertise of our HEAL community to help answer them.

Please email Julia Groenfeldt, HEAL Program and Communications Associate at Jgroenfeldt@institutephi.org to share your ideas.
Spotlight Cities & Towns
Our Spotlight Cities & Towns series continues this month on the HEAL Cities and Towns Campaign website with a brief article on the City of Salisbury, Maryland and the City of Roanoke, Virginia. These monthly articles provide our HEAL cities and towns with an opportunity to learn about the HEAL work taking place across the region and strategies for success. Please be sure to check out our website for the latest features
Salisbury, Maryland: The City of Salisbury is creating a more walkable and bikeable community by investing municipal funding in infrastructure changes that support active lifestyles. The City is implementing new bike lanes, safe crosswalk design, and mural crosswalks to slow street traffic. Read more here.
Roanoke, Virginia: Roanoke is using its outdoor amenities to drive healthy behavior change and economic development for residents and visitors. The city has been able to attract businesses interested in providing their employees opportunities to lead healthy and active lives near where they live, work, and play. Read our case study here
Tools and Resources
Webinar | How HEAL Cities Are Advancing Health for All in Park and Recreation
Learn how park and recreation policies, programs, and practices can advance health and wellness for all residents, especially those living in underserved neighborhoods. The webinar will include speakers from the National Recreation and Park Society as well as HEAL representatives from Colorado and Virginia. The webinar will be held on January 10 at 1 PM EST.  Register  here .

Fact Sheet | Strategies for Accomplishing Your HEAL Resolution Goals
Interested in learning new strategies to realize your HEAL resolution goals? HEAL partners and founding partner, Kaiser Permanente provide a helpful fact sheet that maps out a path to success. Find the fact sheet here

Webinar | Creating Safe Spaces for All Community Members
America Walks will be hosting a webinar on January 10 at 11 AM EST on how communities can help create safe and walkable communities for residents. Attendees will learn techniques and concepts related to walking safety, discuss ways to address street harassment, and learn how to provide options for people with disabilities. Register here. 

Resource | The Meat of the Matter: A Municipal Guide to Climate- Friendly Food Purchasing
Learn how municipalities can cut costs, improve employees' health, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce water use by providing more plant-forward food options. Friends of the Earth provides an in-depth guide highlighting the environmental and health reasons for transitioning institutional food purchases towards more plant-based foods. Find the resource  here. 

Data | County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
Access your County and region's health data using the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps website. Dashboards and guides allow users to explore different factors that drive community health and give suggestions for improvement  Find data  here.
In the News
The Town of Mount Airy has recently joined the HEAL Campaign as the  Mid-Atlantic's 60th municipal member. Read out the Town's implementation efforts and HEAL resolution goals in the Frederick News-Post's article  "Mount Airy resolves to eat healthy, get active."

We welcome your comments about the Newsletter and any ideas for newsletter content. Please contact our HEAL Campaign Associate, Julia Groenfeldt, at 202-747-3455 or at Jgroenfeldt@institutephi.org.     
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