How to Host an Epic Family Health and Fitness Day

Want to get your employees together for a fun summer event?

Hosting a family health and fitness day is a perfect way to do it. June 11 is officially known as Family Health & Fitness Day as sponsored by the National Recreation and Park Association. While it’s great to participate on the day of, consider this an event that’s relevant any time during the summer.

If you want to set up your own special event for your employees and their families, check out our step-by-step guide below on just how to do it.

Read on for planning tips, theme ideas, social media marketing templates, and more!

Five Reasons to Host a Family Health and Fitness Day

Looking for a good reason to host a family health and fitness day? There are quite a few reasons and many offer good health benefits! The number one reason to consider it? By allowing your team members to bring their families in for a special health event, it shows your company deeply cares about well-being.

Here’s a look a how an event like this benefits your team:

• Introduces health through a new lens - Sadly, many families lack a safe place to play together outdoors. If you opt to host the event outside, your workers may realize they should get out more. For your employees, this event may be an opportunity to introduce them to a great local park they can visit for fitness activities and bring their family to on weekends. 
• Outdoor time is good for everyone - Hosting your event outdoors has tons of benefits. One, you don’t have to worry about room to social distance. It also naturally offers fresh air, green space to enjoy, and a chance to elevate vitamin D levels. Time outdoors is also linked to lower stress and blood pressure levels.
• Creates connection opportunities - If you’re hosting a family health and fitness day at a park, you open opportunities for employees’ families to meet one another. This can lead to improved work relationships, play date opportunities for kids, and a general sense of workplace camaraderie.
• Encourages physical activity - Sadly, in an era where technology reigns supreme, many kids are glued to screens while working adults try to get work or household activities done. One in three kids is active daily, according to the website RxResource. Adults are just as guilty about not moving; less than 5% participate in 30 minutes of daily physical activity. A family health and fitness day will encourage plenty of movement! 
• Offers a refresher on wellness benefits - This event is a perfect time to share any news on upcoming wellness benefits. It’s also a great time to pass out a highlights sheet on your wellness programs and benefits in a goodie bag for your team to look over later.

Theme Ideas for Your Family Health and Fitness Day

There are a ton of ways to tackle the event in a family-friendly way that is oriented around fitness and health. Don’t want a theme? That’s fine, too! But here are a few ideas for themes to outline your event and activities:

• Fun Family Workouts
• Walking to Wellness
• Good and Well
• Family Field Day

Planning Your Event

This is the fun part! Start planning your company’s family health and fitness day as soon as you know it’s of interest to your employees. This ensures you have plenty of time to do so and that it can be well-attended by your workers.

Here’s how to get started:  

• Start with your budget - Planning an event like this will take some funds for games, food, signage, etc. Look at what you have to spend and then start delegating who will purchase items.
  
• Skip decor - The outdoors lends itself naturally to a beautiful setting. Find a local park that gets rave reviews on Yelp or Google and opt to host your event at the park. This will give the kids plenty of room to run around.
  
• Set a reasonable date - This isn’t an event that can easily be planned for the next day. Host it when it will be most convenient for most of your staff. Fridays or weekends are a safe bet.
  
• Send invites - Don’t forget to send out invites via email!
  
• Plan plenty of activities - Think about setting up various stations for games and activities for families. Games like obstacle courses, follow the leader, bike rides with helmet fittings, and hula hoop contests are simple to set up and fun for the whole family. Face painting and other kid-friendly activities like simple crafts or coloring sheets focused on health and wellness are another easy way to keep them busy.
• Create informational visuals and packets - Start putting together resources for your event to pass out or display. Having printouts and display boards on hand about topics like obesity, healthy eating, and exercising is also useful.
• Think about guests and/or vendors - You might consider having the local health department come to your event to discuss childhood obesity. Or, have a local pediatrician on-site to answer questions about eating well as a family. A yoga studio may offer to come out and do a family yoga class. Make it fun and versatile!
• Consider sending a press release - If you’re planning to make it a massive event, then consider contacting the local press about covering it as a feature story. Send the local news stations and newspapers a press release covering the basic details along with a contact person to reach.

1-2 Weeks Before the Event

Planning your event will take a good amount of time prior to the big day, especially if you have a large group to accommodate.

• Ask for volunteers - See if you have any volunteers who would be willing to pitch in and help out. This is also a prime opportunity to ask employees who have any high school or college students if they need some volunteer hours. This is a great way for them to be involved with a family event while also earning necessary credit hours for graduation.
  
• Get a head count- Be sure to get a head count for any and all who are coming. This is especially important if you’re ordering and handing out any gift bags, t-shirts, and other items and if you’re having any food items.
  
• Plan out food - If you’re planning on catering or having a potluck, organize a list of what’s needed for snacks, drinks, and main meals. You can also keep it simple with finger foods like crudites and dips and fresh fruits and crackers with hummus. Skip soda and have water on hand; you can even set up a fruit-infused water bar if you want!
  
• Make or order signage - If you’re having your event at a park or other outdoor venue, ensure there is plenty of directional signage indicating where your group is. This will keep everyone from getting lost, parking too far, etc.
• Think about activities - Depending on your theme, you’ll want to plan plenty of activities for the event. Hula hoop contests, team wheelbarrow races, hopscotch races, volleyball, basketball, and other pick-up games are great, too, for families. Extra points if you can get a bounce house for the young kids to burn energy off in. 
• Create duty checklists - For super-involved volunteers, ensure they have a checklist of items they need to order, pick up, or otherwise bring to the event. Create a master checklist to ensure nothing gets missed. Keep a digital and paper copy!

Social Media Marketing Leading Up to the Event

If you have an active social media presence, using your accounts is a great PR opportunity and a way to keep your employees in the loop about the upcoming event.

These sample post ideas are provided by the National Recreation and Park Association:

Facebook

• We’re building a healthy [insert town name] by providing access to nature to relieve stress, strengthen interpersonal relationships and improve mental wellbeing. #NRPAFamilyFitDay
• Have you felt better after visiting a park or participating in our recreational activities? Parks and recreation play an essential role in keeping [insert city/town/community name] active and healthy, especially throughout COVID-19. Explore all the benefits with [insert agency name] on #NRPAFamilyFitDay, June 11!
  
• Celebrate Family Health & Fitness Day at [insert facility or park name] on Saturday, June 11! #NPRAFamilyFitDay
• Today, we’re celebrating Family Health & Fitness Day! How does parks and recreation improve the health of your family? #NRPAFamilyFitDay [include photo of program or activity]
• This weekend, we’re celebrating Family Health & Fitness Day! Discover all the ways we’re helping our community stay healthy at [insert park/facility name]! #NRPAFamilyFitDay
• Family Health & Fitness Day encourages families and individuals to visit their local parks and recreation to stay healthy and active. #NRPAFamilyFitDay [include photo of program or activity]
• We want to know — is visiting your local park part of your health routine? Tell us using #NRPAFamilyFitDay. [include photo of program or activity]

Instagram

• Did you know? Parks and recreation play an essential role in keeping [insert town name] active and healthy, especially throughout COVID-19. Discover these benefits with [insert agency name]. #NRPAFamilyFitDay
• We’re building a healthy [insert town name] by providing access to nature to relieve stress, strengthen interpersonal relationships and improve mental wellbeing. #NRPAFamilyFitDay

• Today, we’re celebrating @nrpa’s Family Health & Fitness Day! How have parks and recreation kept you healthy throughout the past year? #NRPAFamilyFitDay

• Celebrate @nrpa’s Family Health & Fitness Day at [insert park or facility name] on June 11! #NRPAFamilyFitDay

• Parks and recreation play an essential role in keeping communities active and healthy. Discover these benefits with @nrpa and [insert agency name or Instagram handle]. #NRPAFamilyFitDay

• Is your local park part of your health routine? Share a picture using #NRPAFamilyFitDay. [include photo of program or activity]

Note: Even if you’re not planning on having your event on June 11, you can remove the date and hashtag and come up with your own social media tags.

The Day Before

Getting organized the night before can keep you and your volunteers on track during the big day. Organizing items the morning of can get messy and potentially cause you to miss bringing something.

Here’s how to keep it all together and organized:

• Send a mass reminder - Remind your employees of the event via email the day before. Be sure to include where the event is, the time, and the phone number of someone to call if they get lost.
  
• Send a mass text - For your volunteers, you may also opt to send a mass text with the location of the event and what time you’ll need them for set-up. If it’s outdoors in a park under a pavilion or a specific location, make sure they know exactly where to go. Depending on how much set-up you have, plan for at least an hour or two prior to the event.
• Make sure everyone has their checklists - While it may seem like overkill, ensure everyone has their checklist copies the day before so they know what their responsibilities are. This ensures the ball doesn’t get dropped!

Day of the Event

The day of any event can be a frenzied mess or it can be orchestrated in a calm, organized manner. This is why planning ahead can be so helpful.

Here are a few tips to ensure your event goes well:

• Have plenty of water on hand - Staying hydrated in the heat is essential for everyone, especially if there is lots of physical activity going on. Label coolers with water and have signs pointing to water fountains.
• Keep signs visible - If you have any signs, ensure they’re visible from sidewalks and parking lots. This is important if you have any vendors coming to the event like massage therapists for chair massages or a functional medicine clinic setting up a booth.
• Thank your team - Thank everyone for coming out and enjoying the day. Definitely don’t forget to give a special shout-out to any volunteers, especially any younger students who came out for volunteer hours. Be sure to stay around to sign any papers they may have to prove they worked the event to get credit for their volunteer time.

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How Will You Celebrate Family Health & Fitness Day?

Ready to encourage your employees to stay well? For families, it’s much easier to keep wellness as a focus when everyone in the family is on board.

By hosting an event that promotes physical activity, healthy foods, and resources, you can help families learn what it takes to stay healthy. At the end of the event, have a banner your team members and their families can sign as a “pledge” to live a healthier lifestyle.

Last but not least: Remind everyone of the importance of incorporating parks and recreation into the family schedule. Parks are often free and a wonderful resource to use most of the year. Encourage your team to explore local parks often to stay active and healthy as a family. Many parks often have free activities and recreation centers often have free or reduced-price physical activity classes to stay active. These can cost less than a gym membership and it’s a fun way to meet other families. As an employer, you might also consider purchasing park passes or local recreation passes for employees with families.

No matter how you plan to run your family health and fitness event, focus on fun and physical movement to have the greatest impact!

Have you ever hosted a family health and fitness day event? Let us know your tips and best practices in the comments below!