During this year’s Mental Health Week (May 3-9, 2010), staff at CMHA Ontario participated in a pedometer challenge to mark the release of the Minding Our Bodies project toolkit. In only seven days, the CMHA Ontario staff collectively walked over 680,000 steps! With the success of our office pedometer challenge we wanted to inspire others! We proposed a challenge to all Ontario CMHA branches: Who will walk the most during the month of July?

The question has been answered! With overwhelming enthusiasm from our Ontario branches, we distributed over 2000 pedometers, which were generously donated by ParticipACTION, the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport and the National Quality Institute (NQI). The branches hit the ground walking and kept track of their steps using the Government of Ontario’s Active 2010: Pedometer Challenge website. This website allows groups to track both individual steps and group step counts. It also enabled groups to see how they were doing in relation to others, fostering some friendly competition between the branches!

After a month of dedicated walking, we are pleased to announce our top 6 branches:
 

The winners were calculated by dividing each branch’s total step count for the month of July by their number of participants. Our top three were definitely close! It was great to hear that some of our branches are continuing with their own office challenges in the fall.

CMHA Ontario wants to congratulate all participating branches for their enthusiasm and efforts. We are proud that our branches demonstrate the importance of physical activity and its relationship to good mental health. Start your own challenge with the Government of Ontario’s Active 2010: Pedometer Challenge website. Or send e-cards, download posters and show your commitment by taking the iCan Walk pledge through Green Communities Canada.