Move with the Mayor

The Move with the Mayor Challenge is a campaign organized by the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention. We ask our residents to take steps to improve their health by walking for 30 minutes each day during the months of May and September. This Challenge shows that even busy people - like the Mayor - make time for their heart health. You can, too.

Join the Move with the Mayor® (MWTM) Spring Mental Health and Physical Activity Challenge.

Now is the season to strengthen your social connections and get active! And what better way to do it than by joining the Move with the Mayor® (MWTM) Spring Mental Health and Physical Activity Challenge?

MWTM is a partnership between the City of West Chicago and the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention to raise awareness about the importance of physical activity while motivating people to move more.

This year’s challenge takes place during May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. During the challenge, we’ll focus on the connection between social connectivity, physical activity, and mental health.

World Heart Day offers people across the globe the opportunity to take part in the world’s biggest intervention against CVD. World Heart Day was created by the World Heart Federation, a non-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland committed to reducing premature CVD mortality by 25% by the year 2025.

Did you know that while heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., it is often preventable?

Walking is one of the easiest ways to lower one’s chances of heart disease and its risk factors, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. That’s why the National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention is working with mayors across the country to host the Move with the Mayor Challenge, a World Heart Day-inspired campaign that asks citizens to take literal steps to improve their health by walking during the month of September.

Research shows that walking as little as 30 minutes a day can significantly re- duce one’s risk for heart disease and stroke. Yet, many Americans do not know that a half hour walk can cut their risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) or find it hard to free up 30 minutes in their busy day to walk.

**We encourage you to continue walking through our beautiful City, parks and forest preserves this summer and enjoy recreating at the ARC Center while continuing to practice physical distancing.