Rec-Connect™ makes fitness fun for everyone
August 30, 2023
Summary: Across Michigan, Michigan Fitness Foundation’s (MFF) Rec-Connect™ demonstration series is being used in communities to inspire and empower people to engage regularly in physical activity.
Challenge: People may be interested in increasing their physical activity, but simultaneously be unsure what physical activity is best for them or how to get started. And in a world that’s become more disconnected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people are seeking more opportunities to connect in their communities.
Solution: Rec-Connect™ offers accessible activities for participants of all ages so they can make physical activity part of their regular routine. MFF partners delivering SNAP-Ed locally offer Rec-Connect™ in part because the physical activity demonstrations meet their community’s needs. They are easy, open to all, and can be offered in convenient, welcoming locations. Eleven activity guides are available to walk educators through physical activity demonstrations, and handouts are available so participants can continue being active on their own.
For example, the Wayne State University Detroit Healthy Youth Initiative offers high school students in Detroit Public Schools Community District Rec-Connect™ activities like cardio kick, kickboxing, Zumba, and yoga. Heading north to the Upper Peninsula, Bay Mills Community College, in collaboration with the Bay Mills Indian Community, delivers Rec-Connect™ including traditional dance and games. And, in Michigan’s capital city, Child and Family Charities leads Rec-Connect™ demonstrations at the South Lansing Farmers Market.
In addition to those mentioned, Rec-Connect™ is being offered as part of 20 other SNAP-Ed programs across the state. MFF program managers also provide SNAP-Ed partners with Rec-Connect™ training and technical assistance, survey tools, activity leader guides, and marketing materials and messages, and help with program evaluation.
Because Rec-Connect™ is community-based, people and families can become more active and connected by exploring local physical activity resources such as local parks and trails together. Other Rec-Connect™ physical activities include beach ball games, kite flying, or hula hooping that harken back to childhood and make Rec-Connect™ more accessible and relevant. When Rec-Connect™ is delivered as part of a local SNAP-Ed program, MFF provides reinforcing items, like beach balls, kites, and hula hoops, to help participants continue those physical activities at home.
“It’s much more about having fun with other people, moving your body in ways that you’re comfortable moving in safe, fun spaces in your own community. It’s also about building connections. I think that’s really important in this day and age, to expand ways in which people can be connected to each other, connected to their own bodies in a joyful way, and find places to be connected within their community,” said MFF Program Manager Jocelyn Hayward.
Sustaining success: At the start of the pandemic, MFF decided it was time to transition the Rec-Connect™ program from hard copy print materials to a digital format. At the same time, they asked organizations using Rec-Connect™ physical activity experts, and curriculum instructional designers to review and assess the content and materials. This feedback was vital to improving the program as it went digital. MFF made updates to the program curricula, resources, and materials to work on a digital platform. Now, post-pandemic, it’s easier than ever for SNAP-Ed educators to lead physical activity programming, and for people to return to being physically active together in their communities.
