Happy Birthday MOVE!

“It was very exciting sharing Step-by- Step with the City of Des Moines during their council meeting—the Council and the audience of about 30 people watched and listened carefully. Step-by-Step and all the local partners helped move the Healthy Des Moines movement and our healthy eating active living outcomes forward in the City.” 
Sue Anderson, Former Policy Analyst, City of Des Moines and MOVE advisory board member 

This week marks one year of MOVE online! We are delighted to announce that since our launch in October, 2011, the number of MOVE partners has doubled. Our most recent additions are the YMCA of Greater Seattle –who will be developing and using digital stories as a tool for diabetes prevention and policy change in South King County, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, which will mark MOVE’s expansion outside of King County as we work with a rural health education program in Yakima.

Just one year ago, MOVE storytellers were nervously preparing to speak in front of the Seattle City Council at our launch event, “I.D. on the MOVE” where over one hundred residents and decision-makers gathered to watch neighborhood stories about local parks, community gardens, and access to physical activity. Because of this effort and others like it, the Seattle City Council restored most of the proposed cut hours to the Chinatown/International District Community Center. ICHS’ Abbie Zahler explains that the stories about the Community Center are still relevant and have been instrumental in their advocacy work; she encourages people to contact council members to ask that they support the mayor's proposal which seeks to maintain current levels.

MOVE partners have found our strategy effective at the state level as well. According to Entre Hermanos’ Executive Director Marcos Martinez, "Through our participation in MOVE, LGBTQ Latinos have had the opportunity to share their personal stories about how tobacco has affected their lives and their community….Our successful efforts to petition lawmakers to preserve funding for the state Quitline service in Spanish gave our community a taste of how powerful our unified voices can be in promoting and preserving vital public services that help to ensure good health."

As MOVE into year two, we will continue to engage civic action at the institutional and the policy levels. And, with the elections just weeks away, we also want to remind all that these stories can be used as voter education tools. Check out how our partners have developed new stories to meet their advocacy needs, like Martha’s piece about marriage equality.

Do you have thoughts/recommendations/suggestions for MOVE as we launch the process of adapting the website to incorporate stories of other regions? Let us know!