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Faculty and Staff at SUNY Plattsburgh Start! Walking


PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (March 25, 2008) - SUNY Plattsburgh announces its participation in the Start! Walking Program, sponsored by the American Heart Association, during the month of April. Start! is the groundbreaking national campaign that calls on all Americans and their employers to create a culture of physical activity and health to live longer, heart-healthier lives through walking.

The kick-off will take place in the Cardinal Lounge, Angell College Center, on Tuesday, April 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Faith Long, regional director of the American Heart Association, will introduce the program, and the month of wellness will begin with a group walk on campus led by SUNY Plattsburgh President John Ettling.

For SUNY Plattsburgh employees, release time has been granted so that they may attend the event. Those interested in attending should coordinate with their supervisors.

Healthy snacks will be provided, and pedometers will be raffled off. Participants can walk alone or as a group, at home, at work, at the gym or even on vacation. It doesn't matter where they walk, but they are asked to keep track of their miles, so that all mileage can be tallied in the end.

Following this month of wellness, a celebration will take place on Thursday, May 1 at 1:30 p.m. in the Alumni Room of the Angell College Center. Everyone who participated in the Start! Walking Program will be invited to come and celebrate their healthier hearts with refreshments and some prizes.

"Though I rarely utter these words, to clarify, this event is not a fundraiser," said Anne Hansen, who serves as the chief fundraiser at SUNY Plattsburgh and 2008 chair of the American Heart Association's Plattsburgh Heart Walk. "It is a program to build awareness of the benefits of walking and to increase the number of people who choose to walk for exercise. We hope to encourage people to join together with co-workers and have some fun fighting heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S."

During the month of April, the college's Human Resources office will also offer a number of health and wellness forums. More information about these forums will be available at the kick-off event and in the college's daily digest.

For more information, contact Cynthia Fregeau, the Start! contact person in HR at 518-564-5064 or [email protected] or Long at 518-643-9760 or [email protected] .

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