Winners announced at April 16th Let’s Move award ceremony
Boca Raton, FL – The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t hold back Palm Beach County residents from breaking the record for logging the highest number of physical activity minutes in the Let’s Move! Commit to Change Physical Activity Challenge’s nine-year history. From all across Palm Beach County, 378 teams comprised of 1,337 individuals participated in the March 1-31, 2021 campaign, logging 59,464,582 minutes of walking, running, Zumba dancing and a variety of virtual activities to take charge of their health during the pandemic. The campaign made a remarkable comeback from the prior year when 4 million minutes were logged at the beginning of the pandemic during March 2020.
Presented by Palm Health Foundation and Digital Vibez, Inc., Let’s Move invites residents to form teams and commit to exercising at least 30 minutes a day. The highly competitive campaign has teams from municipalities, county organizations, and other groups all vying for top prizes, which were awarded at the April 16, 2021 Let’s Move Celebration Event and Awards Ceremony. Hosted by the KVJ Show’s Virginia Sinicki at a live presentation at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium and carried throughout the community virtually through Zoom, Digital Vibez unveiled the winning Let’s Move teams with the highest number of physical activity minutes.
The City of Wellington was named the Let’s Move top team for 2021 with 26 million minutes logged. The top five teams are:
Top 5 Teams:
1.The City of Wellington
2. The City of Delray Beach
3. The City of West Palm Beach
4. The School District of Palm Beach County
5. Palm Beach County Sports Wellness and Recreation
Top 5 Sub-Teams:
Winning sub-teams, groups within a team who log minutes collectively, are:
1. The City of Delray Beach Parks and Rec
2. The Village of Wellington
3. AroundWellington
4. City of West Palm Beach Residents
5. VFitness Squad
Individual Let’s Move Champions:
The following Individuals were recognized as “Champions” for their exceptional involvement and commitment to increase resident participation in the Let’s Move challenge:
1. Rosa White of Boynton Beach
2. Frank Verney, Coleman Park Community Center in West Palm Beach
3. Andrea Bruton, Delray Beach
4. Angela Williams, Delray Beach
5. Liz Nunez, The Village of Wellington
Top Youth Centered Program
Let’s Move awarded a special $500 grant to the community-based, youth-focused program that logged the most minutes to support their physical activity programming. The winner of the grant was The City of Delray Parks and Recreation.
Video Contest Winner
Each year Let’s Move invites community members to submit a video to the support the campaign. The Florida Health Department, Palm Beach County took home the top award for their video, “Let’s Move on the Outside.” Employees created an original song and showed their dance moves to promote the benefits of physical activity on mental health and overall wellness.
Sinicki also recognized Let’s Move sponsors, including Joe DiMaggio Children’s Health Specialty Center, Valley Bank, Wisehaupt, Bray Asset Management and Quantum Foundation. Wilford Romelus, founder of Digital Vibez, joined Sinicki to share a few words with attendees. “This is the campaign’s 9th year and we could not be prouder of the amazing results!” he said. This past year was full of unexpected challenges for everyone, but we came back stronger than ever!”
Patrick McNamara, president and CEO of Palm Health Foundation, shared: “We all did it together, and that is what Let’s Move is about—taking charge of our health as a community by integrating physical activity, nutrition and healthy behaviors into our daily lives, and having fun while doing it!”
Let’s Move was first launched in 2012 by Palm Health Foundation, Palm Beach County’s leading community foundation for health. Inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2010 Let’s Move national program to decrease childhood obesity, the foundation created the local challenge for adults and children to improve a variety of health issues through regular physical activity. The challenge promotes daily exercise as a way to combat illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, and strengthen brain health and life expectancy, among other benefits.
About Palm Health Foundation
Palm Health Foundation is Palm Beach County’s community foundation for health. With the support of donors and a focus on results, the foundation builds strong community partnerships, respects diverse opinions, advocates for its most vulnerable neighbors and inspires innovative solutions to lead change for better health now and for generations to come. The foundation supports health equity for Palm Beach County residents of all backgrounds, heritage, education, incomes and states of well-being. Palm Health Foundation has invested more than $85 million in Palm Beach County health since 2001. For more information about Palm Health Foundation, visit palmhealthfoundation.org or call (561) 833-6333.
About Digital Vibez, Inc.
Digital Vibez is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Palm Beach County. Our mission is to empower youth in diverse and underserved communities through dance fitness, technology and the arts. Our innovative programs and events motivate and inspire youth to use their creativity and talents to develop healthier habits while expressing themselves through positive outlets and engaging activities. For more information about Digital Vibez, visit digitalvibez.org or call (561) 847-4521.