Mayor’s Wellness Coalition to be Revived

The Mayor’s Wellness Coalition, a township initiative to promote health and wellness, is returning to Manalapan. The coalition is comprised of local businesses, public schools, government agencies, the , and the .

The program, which began in 2006 under the direction of the Health Department, fizzled out due to lack of participation.

“There was low interest in programs,” Health Officer Dave Richardson said. “We weren’t able to capture the community well”.

Richardson believes advances in electronic communication will raise residents’ awareness of programs and services offered by the coalition. 

“Various means of communication to the community have changed since 2006,” he said, citing Web sites and direct emails as examples. The coalition’s Web site is currently under construction, but will hopefully be running this fall, according to Richardson.

“We intend to keep it (the coalition’s Web site) current with a list of all the programs,” Richardson said. “The Web site serves as a hub to keep it all coalesced.”

The township’s Health Department takes a leadership role in organizing the coalition’s partnerships and advertising its services. It inventories resources that are already available, and looks to see where the gaps are.

Mona Cholowinski, Superintendent of Manalapan Parks and Recreation, said the fitness and nutrition programs will be advertised with the Wellness Coalition logo. The offers a variety of classes, including strength training, yoga, and turbo kickboxing.

Most fitness programs at the are geared for adults, although some are available for youth, Cholowinski said. Services are offered for modest prices that cover the cost of expenses.

Cholowinski said that she is happy to have the participate in the Mayor’s Wellness Coalition. “Wellness and fitness is something we’ve always offered, and will continue to offer,” she said. “Hopefully, this is another avenue to get the word out.”

Elaine McNamara, Director of the , hopes the coalition will raise public awareness of services offered at the .

“Getting the word out is the most important thing,” McNamara said.

The center provides fitness classes in tai chi and line dancing. It also hires professionals to speak on a variety of topics related to senior wellness. These seminars often facilitate good discussion and create support amongst the participants, McNamara said. All programs and services at the center are free for residents.

“People are more apt to stay in a program when they know their friends are there,” McNamara said. “One healthy aspect of rounding out your whole life is staying connected.”

The coalition operates on in-kind funding from its various participating agencies. Programs and services sponsored by the coalition are identifiable by the coalition’s unique logo.

The coalition seeks to develop additional partnerships and connections. Richardson is reaching out to supermarkets to engage them in promoting proper nutrition. He is, also, encouraging school administrators to increase the level of fitness activities available to staff.

“We’re finding new interest from people we didn’t have the ability to reach before,” Richardson said.