Be Active – Appalachian Partnership

The Be Active-Appalachian Partnership was launched in July 2005 at Appalachian State University in Boone. Made possible by a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and housed in the University’s Institute for Health and Human Services, the Partnership formalizes a collaborative relationship between Be Active North Carolina Inc. and Appalachian State University.

The mission of the Be Active-Appalachian Partnership is to promote physical activity and lifetime fitness for the citizens of western North Carolina. Through its community outreach, the Partnership has developed collaborative relationships with community partners in 28 western counties reaching over 40,000 citizens since its launch in 2005. The Partnership works closely with with more than 75 organizations—from county health departments, senior centers and school systems, to state parks and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. 

By helping local and regional organizations learn to be more impactful in physical activity programming and providing resources and support to facilitate physical activity initiatives for all age groups, the partnership plays an integral role in:

  • Serving as a primary partner with the Appalachian District Health Department and State of North Carolina in the CDC-funded project “Communities Putting Prevention to Work,” which serves Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga counties
  • Training public schools and childcare teachers how to add brief moments of physical activity throughout the school day to keep children active and alert, as well as how to better utilize the outdoors to increase activity
  • Leading seniors in balance- and strength-increasing activities
  • Lending fitness equipment such as body mass index analyzers, scales and blood pressure cuffs to community partners and physical activity equipment through its Resource Lending Library to teachers, camps, churches and childcare centers
  • Sponsoring research by Appalachian faculty on health-related topics
  • Partnering with state parks to emphasize greater physical activity through outdoor recreation

The Be Active-Appalachian Partnership is housed in Appalachian’s Institute for Health and Human Services, which is part of the College of Health Sciences.