Get Stepping – Walk to Anywhere Week Oct. 5-9

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Walk to Anywhere Week

Join us for a weeklong celebration of walking

School looks and feels different this year: some are virtual, others are in-person and many are somewhere in-between. Since back-to-school has changed for everyone this year, our annual Walk to School Day event is adapting to allow for different school formats. Whether it’s walking to school for in-person classes or exploring your neighborhood with family, we hope you will join us for Walk to Anywhere Week, Oct. 5-9!

We may not be able to gather for walking events at  school this year, but our Safe Routes to School team want to encourage students and family to take a walk before, during or after the school all year long.. Students will benefit from physical activity, fresh air and increased focus. And parents can too. No matter if your school is in-person or at home, the resources below will help you find ways to get involved in Walk to Anywhere Week this year!

Ideas for everyone

Check out these ideas for Walk to School Day 2020 from the National Walk and Bike to School Day website for inspiration at the family, neighborhood or school level.

Then, check out some of our resources—these can be used in-school, by classroom or physical education teachers in a distance-learning context, or by families at home:

Join our Photo Contest and share where you love to walk to. We will highlight winning photos all month long. Help us encourage more walking in Minnesota.

Get registered

To allow participation across learning environments; families, neighborhoods and schools are all invited to register their participation this year. Walk to Anywhere Week activities might happen at home, around the neighborhood or at school…there’s room for everyone!

Reflect on why you and your community care about walking to school and use Walk to Anywhere Week to solidify commitments and work towards needed changes.

Upcoming solicitations

Stayed tuned to this newsletter as we will have many upcoming solicitations for SRTS this fall! 

Fall funding opportunities

  • Planning Assistance solicitation to help you develop a SRTS Plan.
  • Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) solicitation for infrastructure funding.
  • Boost Mini-grants to help with any implementation needs from bike fleets to stipends.
  • Demonstration Projects Technical Assistance to test engineering projects identified in SRTS plans. (now open)

Student transportation COVID-19 Resources

This year, schools may be changing from in-person to hybrid or virtually quickly and looking for transportation opportunities with minimal spread of germs. We have resources to support walking and biking to school, a low viral transmission way to arrive to school ready to learn.

Find tool and ideas at MnSRTS COVID-19 resources for Safe Routes to School.

Safe Routes National Partnership has released  back to school recommendations for Safe Routes to School programming and SRTS school messaging guide.

Please reach out to saferoutes.DOT@state.mn.us if you need any technical assistance.

Upcoming events

Oct. 10 at 11 a.m. – MN SRTS network call

Share and learn with those working on SRTS from across Minnesota. 

To join the Minnesota Safe Routes to School Network, email center.communications@bluecrossmn.com

More about MnSRTS