ACHIEVE (Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and EnVironmental changE) is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Healthy Communities Program. ACHIEVE seeks to empower local communities to promote policies, systems, and environmental change strategies—focusing on issues such as physical fitness and obesity, nutrition, and tobacco cessation—to advance the nation’s efforts to prevent chronic diseases and related risk factors. 

Since 2009, NRPA has awarded 34 grants to communities to work on decreasing chronic disease, increasing physical activity, and improving access to healthy food. ACHIEVE has generated a number of best practices, including improvements to school wellness policies to make healthy foods available in schools; adoption of worksite wellness policies that promotes wellness to staff and the community; establishing smoke-free environments in parks; establishing farmer’s market sites for communities; creating community gardens; and establishing policies that create more walkable and/or bikeable communities that promote physical activity and access to nutritious foods. For more information, please visit www.achievecommunities.org or view our case studies.

• Reduce the incidence of chronic disease through policy, systems and environmental change strategies at the local level;
• Create partnerships with community stakeholders;
• Attend meetings with national leaders to learn about tools, resources, and strategies to build healthier communities;
• Create awareness of the vital services parks and recreation offers; and, 
• Enhance the overall health and livability of your community.

2012 ACHIEVE NRPA Communities

NRPA is happy to announce the new 2012 ACHIEVE communities:

• Neptune, NJ
• Spearfish, SD
• Waupaca, WI
• Wilsonville, OR

Current ACHIEVE Communities

For more information on the ACHIEVE communities, please visit www.achievecommunities.org.

• Arlington Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources- Arlington, VA
• Annapolis Recreation and Parks, Annapolis, Md.
• Bismarck Parks and Recreation District, Bismarck, N.D.
• City of Casper Recreation Division- Casper, WY
• Chicago Park District- Chicago, IL
• Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation Department, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Davenport Parks and Recreation- Davenport, IA
• City of Fort Collins Recreation Department- Fort Collins, CO
• Grand Forks Park District, Grand Forks, N.D.
• Greenville County Recreation District- Taylors, SC
• City of Hastings Parks and Recreation Department- Hastings, NE
• City of Helena Parks and Recreation, Helena, Mont.
• City of Jackson Recreation and Parks Department- Jackson, TN
• La Mirada Community Services- La Mirada, CA
• Longview Parks and Recreation- Longview, WA
• Lynnwood Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts, Lynnwood, WA
• McMinnville Parks and Recreation- McMinnville, TN
• City of Miamisburg, Miamisburg, Ohio
• Montgomery County Parks and Recreation- Montgomery, AL
• Morris County Park Commission- Morristown, NJ
• Newport Recreation Department- Newport, RI 
• North Miami Parks and Recreation Department- North Miami, FL
• O'Fallon Parks and Recreation- O'Fallon, MO
• Pierre Parks and Recreation- Pierre, SD
• Pipestone Park and Recreation Department- Pipestone, MN 
• The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George's County, Md.
• City of Rock Hill Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department, Rock Hill, S.C.
• Tulsa Parks and Recreation Department- Tulsa, OK
• Van Buren Township Parks & Recreation, Van Buren, Mich.
• Yuba City Parks & Recreation Department, Yuba City, Calif.

Training Courses and Technical Assistance

Online Training Courses: NRPA developed seven courses that teach the basic concepts of implementing a coordinated chronic disease prevention and health promotion plan through policy, systems, and environmental change strategies to the broader park and recreation community. Topics include: 

•  Policy, systems, and environmental change;  
• Cultural competency;  
• Health disparities across demographics;  
• Comprehensive planning for healthy communities;  
• Understanding health, wellness, and livability in your community;  
• Marketing the role of parks and recreation in community health; and  
• Assessments and evaluation.    

Webinars: NRPA’s ACHIEVE webinar series focus on making policy and environmental change to build healthier communities. ACHIEVE communities and subject-matter experts present success stories and discuss the lessons they learned from their efforts to decrease incidences of chronic diseases. Topics include:

• Health Worksite, Happy Employees
• Safe Routes to School
• Social Media
• Community Gardens
• Partnering with Planners
• Partnering with Schools
• Tobacco-free Parks

Questions? Please contact Zarnaaz Bashir zbashir@nrpa.org / (703) 858-4746 or Maggie Cooper mcooper@nrpa.org / (703) 858-2162. 
      

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