08.27.2015

What is the Next Step with the RiseVT Scorecard?

It is time to submit your scorecard!!  The days have flown by and we are now nearly three months into RiseVT’s efforts to encourage all of us to embrace healthier lifestyles.  With September at hand, it is time to make our first call for the submission of RiseVT scorecards!  It is a fun, easy, positive, low-pressure, non-judgmental way for you to see what healthy habits you have embraced and get ideas for which ones you might try next.  As the months progress, your scorecard will provide a nice tracking tool for your journey on your path to better health!  Everyone who submits a scorecard will earn a participation prize and will be entered into a raffle for to win day passes or a year-long pass to Vermont’s State Parks and a $250 gift certificate to Hannafords!

The RiseVT “scorecards” have been designed by the Community Committee on Healthy Lifestyles (right here in our own community) based on research and evidence-based best practices.  They provide an easy and engaging way for individuals, families, businesses, schools, and even municipalities to celebrate their existing healthy habits, identify possible improvements, and track their progress towards a healthier lifestyle.  With that path promising the enjoyment of new things and ultimately more energy and better health, there is no time like now to start!  Best of all, there is no losing with these scorecards.  Regardless of what your initial score is, what matters most is that you are moving forward on your journey to a healthier you.

You will find the RiseVT scorecards online at www.RiseVT.com.  They provide a variety of suggestions for healthy activities and habits that can be tracked over a three-month period.  Each card has three levels: a Bronze level (where healthy habits are being explored), a Silver level (where healthy habits are being adopted), and a Gold level (where healthy habits have become your lifestyle).  Every three months, you can submit your scorecard to the RiseVT team to celebrate and earn recognition for the level you have achieved! 

Please go online and download a scorecard.  Reflect on the past three months and see what you have done and mark it down.  Every start is a good start, so send in your scorecard to celebrate where you are in the journey.  Going to www.RiseVT.com (or calling RiseVT Coordinator Dorey Demers at 524-8825) and getting your scorecard is your first step.  Think how good you will feel as you make little changes that add up and improve your health!

As I’ve said before, the beauty of RiseVT’s approach is meeting each person, family, business, school, and municipality where they are and encouraging and supporting them on their individual path to better health.  Many will start by experimenting with small changes.  Be easy on yourself.  Remember that every small improvement is success!   You may well find that things that seemed “big” at first become easily achievable over time.  What kind of things show up on the scorecards? For individuals and families, the scorecard starts with the simple step of taking the RiseVT pledge to working towards a healthier lifestyle.   The scorecards include strategies like keeping a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter so the easy choice becomes the healthy choice, as well as things like trying new recipes, taking time to dance to your favorite song, and creating a smoke-free zone inside your house.  You do not have to adopt all the habits all at once – remember, it’s a journey on the path to better health.

The response to RiseVT has been wonderful.  More than 650 individuals and families have taken the pledge to embrace healthier lifestyles.  19 businesses, 4 schools, and 4 municipalities are involved.  Our smoothie bikes are racking up the miles as we pedal away while showing folks how delicious better nutrition can be! We have more than 2000 likes on our Facebook page and have had so many people join in with RiseVT’s fun at community events.  Please join in this groundswell of community interest in being a bit healthier.  The energy and enjoyment you get out of it will be a wonderful reward for getting involved.  Take a moment now, go online and get your scorecard, and send it in.  You may win that Hannafords gift card!  Invest in yourself and your health.  We would love to count you among the RiseVT’ers who are embracing healthier lifestyles. 

— Jill Berry Bowen, NMC’s Chief Executive Officer