By: Lucy Conery, Health Promotion Specialist, The Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo Buffalo, NY is infamous for its harsh winter season; people often lock themselves in away from the cold in November and we hope to see sun by the end of March. This culture around winter brings along challenges o...

which has many negative health effects. 8-80 Cities, an organization out of Toronto, Canada is working to address these challenges by introducing the WinterMission Initiative to Buffalo (along with two other cities in Wisconsin and Colorado) in order to make our city a Four-Seasons Wellness Destination where residents enjoy their winters!

After surveying Buffalo citizens on what they prioritize, the WinterMission team prioritized social isolation, physical inactivity, and the factors directly and indirectly affecting these challenges. Sidewalk snow clearance and low awareness of programs/activities during the winter months are two (of many) barriers for people of all ages to engage in physically and socially health-enhancing activities. In order to address these challenges, the WinterMission team will be promoting, exploring, and piloting new programs to better engage Buffalo residents to come out, socialize, and enjoy the winter. In addition to hosting activities, the WinterMission team is also developing a WinterMission Guide, which will list a host of organizations that offer different services, programs, and activities year-round and specifically in the winter! This will help raise awareness on opportunities in our community that promote social, emotional, mental, environmental, economic, and physical health by empowering individuals to socialize and be engaged in a wider range of physical activities.

The Buffalo, NY WinterMission kick-off event is currently scheduled for early winter 2019 and is branded as a Winter Bash. The kick-off event will be followed by pilot programs, which will run this winter and be evaluated by the WinterMission Team, partners, and community residents, so please keep an eye out for WinterMission information and come participate! Enjoy your winters and engage in your community through WinterMission activities!

For more information, please contact the Wellness Institute, a WinterMission partner, at 716-851-4052 or BeActive@City-Buffalo.org or visit the WinterMission website as Buffalo strives to begin a four-seasons wellness enhancing culture!