By

Anne Gonzalez,   Medulla Elementary School

Play:

Topics:

Community Involvement

The Peep Parade was a Medulla community walk. Families were invited to come to school on March 12 at 8:00 for a 1.5 mile walk through the surrounding community. Fresh fruits, granola bars, juice and water was provided to the participants following the walk. As families enjoyed the refreshments they were able to spend time with the fire department’s Touch a Truck program, observe a K9 demonstration, see rescue equipment and talk with a safety officer, all provided by the Polk County Sheriffs Office. The mobile library was available for students to read and check out books and apply for a public library card. Students that completed the walk received a bag that contained a pedometer, a jump rope, an age appropriate book and many materials on healthy eating and exercise habits.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

This was the first time for the event. There were challenges with planning the path - having to make sure we had sidewalks, we did not have to stop traffic on a busy road, and liability. We were able to enlist the help of the local sheriff’s department to help with street safety and we work collectively with our risk management department to ensure we were covered against any liability. We also researched other events similar to ours to see how they handled the challenges we were facing.