Who Can Help? Building Block #3—Teaming Up With Partners

Teaming up with people and groups in your community will go a long way toward making your activity happen. Teaming up—or partnering—is the third building block.

Why are partners important? They can help you with:

• Ideas, support, and/or feedback.
• Reaching your target audience.
• Site or facility space.
• Experts and skills in physical activity and healthy eating.
• Materials, staff (including volunteers), and/or funding.
• Promoting the activity.

Forming Partnerships

Think about involving the following people and community groups as partners:

• Family and friends: Ask family and friends, neighbors, church members, and coworkers early on to help plan your activity or to give you feedback and support.
• Community groups: These include groups such as Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, YWCAs, neighborhood and social organizations, park and recreation departments, and community centers. Community groups may be able to offer building or other facility space, staff (including volunteers), help with reaching people and spreading the word, and skills in planning activities and fundraising.
• Places of worship and faith-based groups: Many places of worship and faith-based groups already have community service and health-related programs. They may be able to give you space and staff, help to reach people, and offer skills in activity planning.
• Health care providers: Local hospitals, community health centers and clinics, and health departments often have experts who can teach a healthy eating class, carry out health screenings, and give you materials on physical activity and healthy eating. Often these services are free or very low cost.
• Local businesses: Grocery stores, supermarkets, sporting goods stores, fitness centers, beauty salons, dance studios, and restaurants can help. Local businesses may be able to cosponsor an activity or give prizes and free items, such as water bottles and food samples. They can also help to reach people by posting flyers and other information.
• Community leaders: School, faith-based, and health care leaders; neighborhood councils; chamber of commerce members; and fundraisers are just some of the community leaders who can help find extra funds and facilities. They can also spread the word about your activity.
• Media: Local television and radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and newsletters can help spread the word about your activity. They may also want to have someone attend the activity to write or air a story about it.
  

Approaching Partners

The best partners are the ones that share a common interest in your activity. Take a few minutes and write down a list of people and groups that you’d like to approach. Include names, titles, phone and fax numbers, and street and e-mail addresses. If you’re already working with other people, ask them to help write the list.

Reaching Out to Partners

• Call or write to potential partners and set up a time to talk about your ideas for a community activity. (See Sample Meeting Letter to Partners.)
• Take notes when you meet with or talk to partners.
• Let the partners know what you’d like to do (your activity ideas and goals).
• Find out if and how the person or group wants to be involved in the activity.
• Talk about a few ways that the person or group might help as a partner. For example, the partner might give you space; funds; materials; staff; volunteers; free items, such as food samples and food items for cooking classes; and publicity. The partner could also help reach participants or find expert speakers.
• Review the main points of the meeting.
• Set up the next meeting date and time.

Working With Partners

• Call or send thank you notes, and go over the partners’ roles in the activity. (See Sample Thank You Letter to Partners.)
• Send the partner any extra information about the activity, such as goals, an outline or agenda, materials, and a timeline. (Refer to Building Block #5 for the Sample Planning Timeline and Checklist.)
• Set up the next meeting(s) that brings all the partners together.
• Get items ready for the next meeting, for example, a list of topics to discuss (agenda) and any other materials.
• During meetings, go over activity goals, partners’ roles, how you’re moving ahead with plans, and any activity needs.
• Learn from your partners, and use their ideas and feedback to plan the activity.
• Keep in touch, and thank the partners for their help during the activity.
• After the activity has ended, ask your partners to tell you what they thought went well, and what they thought could be made better. This “evaluation” is important for future planning.
• Let your partners know what participants thought about the activity.

Sample Meeting Letter to Partners

Be sure to change the letter so that it fits your physical activity and/or healthy eating event. Type or print on letterhead or unlined, white paper.

Sample Thank You Letter to Partners

Be sure to change the letter so that it fits your physical activity and/or healthy eating event. Type or print on letterhead or unlined, white paper.

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