This fall, United Way of the Desert has your passport to wellness! The 3-tier health program helps you with your fitness goals and includes the Nine Weekly Walks, the Workplace Wellness Challenge, and the 32nd Annual Palm Springs Aerial Tram Road Challenge 6K Run/Walk.

Let’s call it one big challenge, and we want you, your co-workers, family, friends and even pets to join us!

First up! The Nine Weekly Walks. Nine valley cities, nine walks with friends, nine ways to help. These free community 5K’s will take you on a tour of our beautiful valley every Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. from August 26 to October 21 – and you can join at any time!

Beyond getting your weekend off to a good start, the goal of the walks is to provide FREE health and fitness opportunities to individuals and families while serving as a community call to action. At each walk, participants are asked to bring a specific item as a donation to the United Way beneficiary partner of the week such as food donations, back to school supplies, baby items, clothing, toiletries, and much more to help families in need.

Each participant receives a passport which includes the nine-week schedule with a page dedicated for a stamp when you check-in at each location. A measure of accountability? You bet! The entire program is healthy fun that keeps you active, motivated – and rewarded. When participants attend six or more walks, they will be entered to win a prize at the end of the nine weeks.

The Workplace Wellness Challenge focuses on engaging local businesses to foster wellness, physical activity, healthy habits, and a little competitive fun. Here’s how it works. Businesses (of any size!) sign up and receive an online landing page where each participating employee then signs up. The free online toolkit allows participants to easily link fitness devices and automatically track physical activities and healthy habits. The goal for each worksite “wellable” team is to earn as many points as possible; the team with the most points wins (and by the way, attending any of the nine walks equals double points!)

The Grand Finale. The nine-week challenge culminates in the 32nd Annual Palm Springs Aerial Tram Road Challenge on Saturday, October 28, at 6:30 a.m. (Yes, it’s bright and early, but by then, you’ll be a pro!)

The inspiring race takes runners and walkers up the tram road with a vertical ascent of 2,000 feet in just over 3.7 miles. And new this year, the Tram Run takes on a Halloween theme. Talk about challenging fun. Break out those superhero costumes, folks!

Once runners reach the top of the tram road, they will enjoy a light breakfast at the Desert Regional Medical Center “Recovery Zone” followed by the Awards Ceremony and Health Fair. Workplace Wellness Challenge awards will also be presented to top wellness teams at the completion of the race. 

So rally your friends, family and co-workers and join us in the Passport to Wellness!

Take part at any time – it’s not too late to sign up! For more information, please call (760) 323.2731 or visit www.unitedwayofthedesert.org

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