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Bicycle Friendly Community Honorable Mention

On behalf of Sumter County, SCAL submitted an application in August 2009 to the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) in hopes of receiving a "Bicycle Friendly Community" designation for the county. A bicycle friendly community is one that welcomes bicyclists by providing safe accommodations for cycling and encouraging people to bike for transportation and recreation.

This past November, LAB awarded Sumter County an honorable mention for the Fall 2009 Bicycle Friendly Community review. This award is in recognition of collaborative efforts being taken among many organizations, including SCAL and the University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center, to promote safe and accessible bicycling for our citizens. SCAL is proud of this first honorary achievement and will seek higher recognition for Sumter County in the coming years.

Community Advocacy and Leadership Program

SCAL and the University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center are developing a new community-based leadership training program called the Community Advocacy and Leadership Program (CALP).  CALP will build community capacity by developing and enhancing the skills of grassroots community leaders (not elected officials or professional city and county staff) in underserved communities in Sumter County who are interested in and committed to improving the health and physical activity opportunities in their local communities.   A community development specialist will provide training workshops and technical assistance to CALP participants.  There will also be a related mini-grant opportunity.  Local organizations that have been chosen to participate in the 2010 CALP are the Broad Street Community Faith Warriors, Rembert Area Community Coalition and Salterstown Community Center. 

Community Advocacy and Leadership Program

The first round of the USC PRC/SCAL Community Advocacy and Leadership Program (CALP) monthly training workshops began in May 2010, and will conclude in December 2010.  By the end of the eight workshops, CALP participants will have learned about leadership, team building, grant writing, community health development and community assessment, cultural competence, group and meeting facilitation, conflict resolution, basic communication, political and media advocacy, strategic planning, and resources and technology.  They'll be armed with the knowledge and skills to make positive changes in their local communities to promote health and quality of life.

The seven CALP participants are representatives of the Broad Street Community Faith Warriors, Rembert Area Community Coalition and Salterstown Community Center. 

Walking Intervention

The first phase of the USC PRC/SCAL walking intervention is underway.  Focus groups with residents of Broad Street (near downtown), Dalzell, Rembert, Wedgefield and Salterstown were held in the spring and summer of 2010 to get their input on their walking experiences, barriers to and facilitators of walking, what they would like a walking program in their community to look like and how to promote it.  All of the information gathered from these focus groups will be analyzed and used to help us tailor-make walking programs in these neighborhoods in the coming months.