Cincinnati – February 27, 2014 – Interact for Health, a catalyst for health and wellness, in partnership with ArtsWave, today launched Join the Fun, a series of community events to motivate residents of all ages to “get moving” and to build social connections. Interact for Health and ArtsWave welcomed the opportunity to collaborate on this initiative when they recognized similar objectives – to bring people together and promote active living – and saw the advantages of combining resources to make them a reality.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults have 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three times each week, or 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times each week. According to the 2010 Greater Cincinnati Community Health Status Survey, only 47 percent of adults in the region report that they meet these guidelines. 

Interact for Health and ArtsWave provided more than $300,000 in funding to 21 local organizations to plan new, recurring active living events for large groups of people. Active living is a way of life that integrates physical activity into everyday routines, resulting in healthy lifestyles. Join the Fun organizations represent a variety of locations and types of events across the Greater Cincinnati region.  

Examples of Join the Fun events include: closing city streets for different physical activities; spontaneous public dance events; and access to sports equipment through local libraries. A full listing of events can be found at https://www.interactforhealth.org/join-the-fun or on Facebook at Facebook.com/JoinTheFunCincy.

“Increasing the number of active living events available to the community can provide motivation, opportunity and social support for everyone to live a healthier lifestyle,” said Jaime Love, program officer for healthy eating and active living at Interact for Health. ”Along with ArtsWave, we're building a culture of activity and engagement. We believe these events will prompt people to get out and literally join the fun.”

Funding will support events in 2014, but could extend in the future. Events are typically free and open to the community; however, a few build on existing events or are focused on a specific group. ArtsWave is also leveraging cultural resources to engage new audiences in the arts.  



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“ArtsWave believes the arts contribute significantly to the quality of life in our community, creating vibrant neighborhoods and bringing people together through music, dance and theater,” said Alecia Kintner, President and COO, ArtsWave. ”Join the Fun enables us to engage new audiences to take advantage of all the arts have to offer, which in turn benefits all of us.”