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SCAL has been a nonprofit corporation registered with the South Carolina Office of the Secretary of State since June 17, 2005. We are authorized to solicit funds in our state. SCAL gladly accepts donations to help us in our efforts.

Sumter County Active Lifestyles Bicycle Plan

SCAL is pleased to present the Sumter County Active Lifestyles Bicycle Plan (PDF 320K), February 2009. It is our first bicycle plan and a companion piece to the Pedestrian Plan we published in March 2008.

The bike plan outlines SCAL's long-range vision of an active and bicycle-friendly community environment in Sumter County and our specific plan of action toward achieving our vision of "everyone in Sumter County being aware of and regularly enjoying the use of the county's safe, convenient and attractive bicycle lanes, paths and trails." The plan is intended for Sumter County government leaders, planners, decision makers, community coalitions, residents and any other interested parties for informational purposes relative to what SCAL is doing to improve the health and quality of life for all citizens of the county.

To view the Sumter County Active Lifestyles Bicycle Plan online, click on the link above. A limited number of hard copies may be obtained at the SCAL office at 155 Haynsworth Street, Sumter, or by calling (803) 774-3860.

Heritage Health Walk Project helps Sumter's African-Americans
get active for better health

SCAL's Heritage Health Walk Project (HHWP), funded by a $5,000 grant from the Eat Smart, Move More South Carolina Coalition, concluded on July 30, 2009. Conducted in predominately lower-income, African-American areas of Sumter, this year-long pilot project tested whether the availability and activity of neighborhood walk groups would get residents to walk more for exercise and better health.

The project worked! Six neighborhood walk groups were formed as a result of the HHWP. The groups are located in northern, central and southern parts of Sumter. The walker survey results showed that the majority of walk group participants joined a walk group to become more active. Their participation in the group increased their level of walking for exercise from what it was prior to joining the group (2.8 days per week/42 minutes per session versus 2 days per week/37 minutes per session).

The walk group leaders, themselves, have experienced many benefits from leading a group and are eager to continue their groups.  Said one leader, "This project is bringing people together and helping them take responsibility for their own health."

Sumter residents now have more options to walk for exercise, health, enjoyment and socializing—one step at a time. To find out whether there is a walk group in your Sumter neighborhood, or if you are interested in becoming a volunteer neighborhood walk group leader, contact Linda Pekuri at (803) 774-3861 or lpekuri@sumtercountysc.org

Click here to download a copy of the Sumter County Active Lifestyles Volunteer Walk Leader Manual (PDF 1 MB) as a resource for your community walk groups project. Click here to download the sample forms listed in the Walk Leader Manual (PDF 368 K).

Mini-grant funds help create more physical activity resources

In the final two rounds of the 2004-2009 community mini-grant program sponsored by SCAL and the University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center, SCAL awarded $15,000 each to the Salterstown Community Center and the Yank Haven Community Crime Watch Coalition. The Salterstown Community Center's project was to build a park on an acre of land that is held in trust for development as a public park or playground. The new Salterstown Park, located at the corner of US Highway 401 (Oswego Highway) and Salterstown Road in Sumter, was dedicated on July 18, 2009. It is next to the historic St. Mark/Salterstown School and is situated on the Salterstown Community Center's property. It features a basketball half-court, tenth-mile asphalt walking track, bicycle rack, benches, picnic tables, barbecue grills and trash cans. It is open 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for area residents and anyone else to use for recreation, physical activity and socializing. Future plans for the park are to upgrade the baseball field currently there and add playground equipment, picnic shelters, and more benches and grills. This will continue to promote the Salterstown Community Center's efforts to increase family involvement in recreation and physical activity for better health.

The Yank Haven Community Crime Watch Coalition partnered with the Ebenezer Community Center and others to add an asphalt walking track, with benches and trash cans alongside, on the community center's property, located at the corner of Ebenezer Church Road and Queen Chapel Road in Dalzell. The community center serves a burgeoning population in this community, and the new "Ebenezer Get Fit Trail" provides a place for residents and community center patrons to walk for exercise in a safe environment. There are plans for an annual community walk on the track. The trail was officially dedicated on July 16, 2009. It is open to the public 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily.

New walk map released

Sumter County Walk Map (6.2 MB PDF) is SCAL's new pocket-size map featuring 12 walking routes that will lead walkers along sidewalks, walking paths, wooded trails and paved walking tracks in various locations in Sumter County. Walkers can enjoy local history, nature, sights and sounds of the county as they are walking for health and leisure. Printed copies of the walk map are available in limited amounts at the SCAL office at 155 Haynsworth Street in Sumter or by calling (803) 774-3860.

For your convenience, we also have these walking routes available for printing on standard letter size paper. Click the links below to download appropriate map.
Dillon Park and Cypress Trail
Memorial, Y, USC & Palmetto Walks
Community Walking Tracks
Sumter Historic Walks
Swan Lake Walk
Rembert-Rafting Creek Walk

New five-year projects are in the works

SCAL is excited to announce that our long-standing research partnership with the University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center (USC PRC) will continue at least through 2014! On October 1, 2009, SCAL and the USC PRC will begin two new, five-year, community-based participatory research projects in Sumter County, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One of the projects will be to create, implement, evaluate and replicate a community advocacy and leadership program (CALP) that will develop and enhance the skills of grassroots community leaders in underserved communities in Sumter County who are interested in and committed to improving the health and physical activity opportunities in their local communities. Within the five-year project timeline, CALP will be offered to communities across South Carolina.

The other project will be a multi-level, tailored walking intervention for adults living in five underserved communities in Sumter County to determine its effect on walking behavior and individual health outcomes. It will also explore the impact of the walking intervention on the social context for physical activity (that is, how the walking intervention might influence the physical activity levels of the participants' family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors).

More information about our new projects will be posted on our website in the near future as the projects unfold.