Letter to the Editor: Fill out your survey!

Over the last 8 years I’ve lived my life immersed in healthy concepts. Every work day I think about population health – how we get there and what 5 Healthy Towns Foundation can do to help. I know a lot about what it takes to get and stay healthy, yet my daily decisions don’t always reflect what I know.

The answer to the question of why daily decisions don’t always reflect what we know is probably vastly different for each of us. If you grow up in a family that values healthful living you have a leg up on the general population. But most of us don’t have that advantage. So then, if you are like me, what can we do to adopt a healthier life style?

The best insight I have? Each of us has to figure out for ourselves why we want to feel good and what we’re willing to do to get there. For most of us it’s not about avoiding the high blood pressure or diabetes we may develop someday. Most of us are motivated by the impact health has on our daily lives. And that’s what I want to understand about each one of you. What are your priorities and how can healthy decision-making become second nature for all of us?

In order to have better insight, we need a very small action from you. Last week you received the latest issue of Connected, the free magazine we send to every mailbox in our five communities. Inside that magazine is a survey card. We’d like someone from every single home to complete that postcard and send it to us. Alternatively, you can scan the bar code on page 4 of the magazine with your phone and complete the survey online. Either way, the information you provide for us will be used to determine how best we can make it easier for you to incorporate healthy living choices in your daily life.

There will be a drawing for a $100 gift card for those who participate in the survey.

While looking through the fall/winter issue of Connected, see if you know any of the people featured. Read about what the Wellness Coalitions in our five towns and the great things they are doing to make it easier for you to live healthfully (thank you, Wellness Coalition volunteers, for all your hard work!). Soak up all the good feelings you’ll get when you see the impressive activities happening in your town. Don’t forget to read the ads for local products and services. Take advantage of their establishments. Without advertisers, we can’t get this fun publication to all of you for free.

We love what we do at 5 Healthy Towns Foundation. And, we want what we do to be useful to you. Your responses to this survey will help us determine how best to respond to community needs.

Amy Heydlauff, CEO

5 Healthy Towns Foundation

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.