Hearts in Motion Walking Club

The Hearts in Motion Walking Club is on the move!

Four years ago, when Karen Leger moved back home to Grand Bay-Westfield, she wanted to find a way to get active and reconnect with her community. The Hearts in Motion Walking Club provides her and many other seniors in the community, the opportunity to do just that!

The club, which meets to walk together three mornings a week, has played a measurable role in improving the health of its members. Karen herself required a cane to walk when she first joined the group, and now she rarely needs to pick it up. There are many other stories like Karen’s.

The group thinks of themselves as much more than a walking club; it is a family. As Karen says, “People in the group look out for one another. When someone is sick, we send them a get-well card. When it’s somebody’s birthday, we have a little party. We have a number of single people who live in remote parts of the province; for them, it’s a lifeline.”

The group regularly meets for coffee after walking, and connect outside of the club to car-pool, help each other with errands and socialize. In the summer, the club walks outside and to stay active in the winter, they walk in the local church. The group is well-recognized in the region, and members come from many kilometers away just to participate. Membership has increased and the momentum is high, with planning for 2013 already underway.