Minister of Health and Wellness Carolyn Bertram announced today go! PEI, a new initiative focused on encouraging Islanders to increase their physical activity and choose healthier foods. go! PEI is one of Government’s integrated approaches to chronic illness prevention and management. The prevalence of chronic illness such as respiratory disease, cancers, cardiovascular disease and diabetes is increasing as our population ages; go! PEI is designed to be a support system to all Islanders, to help create healthier lifestyles and decrease the risk of chronic illness.
“This is a positive step in creating better lives for Islanders, and the Government of Prince Edward Island is pleased to provide support for go! PEI,” said Minister Bertram. “go! PEI is a provincial initiative that starts at the grass-roots level. It provides local and provincial support for Islanders who want to take the first step to wellness. We want to encourage and motivate Islanders, of all ages and life styles, to be more active and to make healthy food choices.”
Within our One Island Community, already 15 local level partners have committed their support. The Province is providing funding for these local partners to lead programs such as go! 101 Courses, Learn to Run Programs, Cycling Initiatives, Healthy Eating Activities, Walking or Hiking Programs, Cooking Classes, Veggie Box Programs, or Community Gardens. Other province-wide initiatives will include: Sneaker Friday’s for the month of June; Healthy Eating Week, October 4-8; and Winteractive Week, January 17-24.
“We are so pleased to be able to provide financial support to run these programs, free of charge, at the local level,” said Minister Bertram. “Neighbors, friends and families will be able to come together and encourage each other to increase their personal wellness through active living and healthy eating.”
go! PEI is being administered by Recreation PEI in partnership with the Department of Health and Wellness. It is focused on demonstrating simple ways Islanders can adopt physical activities and healthy eating to live better and longer lives. The first step is a pledge, where Islanders can commit to taking concrete steps that will improve their state of wellness. The go! PEI pledge can be found at www.gopei.ca, an interactive website, which also includes a toolkit of resources, which can be utilized by the individual, by a company or group, or by an entire community.
Recreation PEI President Barb Mullaly encourages Islanders to start a healthier lifestyle today stating, “Our work involves working with essential stakeholders in P.E.I. communities to provide avenues for Islanders to become more physically active and eat healthier. go! PEI will offer go! 101 courses free of charge to all Islanders across the province. We hope to have thousands of Islanders pledge to improve their lifestyle to include more activity and better eating.”
go! PEI promotes what is good for us all. Local partners including communities, regional sport councils and recreation facilities are getting involved. Provincial partners such as the Healthy Eating Alliance, Cycling PEI, Island Trails and PEI Roadrunners will support the efforts at the local level.
For more information about go! PEI, who the local partners are and its programming, visit www.gopei.ca or call 902-892-5323. go! PEI is jointly funded by the Province of Prince Edward Island, Department of Health and Wellness and the Public Health Agency of Canada.