Mission Viejo Director of Recreation Is Here To Tell Us Why Helping Kids With CP Is So Important!

Part of our Department’s role in the community is to promote health and wellness.  We decided to expand the Community Health Fair to include a 5K to attract more people to the event and target families.  We also have received multiple requests from community organizations to host 5K events of their own in our parks.  Rather than have multiple 5K events throughout the year, we thought if the City was able to implement one major event where non-profit organizations could benefit, we could do a really nice event allowing the organizations to focus more on what they do versus trying to implement a fundraiser.  This is a great way for the City of Mission Viejo and the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce to give back to our wonderful organizations and help them achieve their goals.

The Oso Creek Trail was selected because of its uniqueness and length.  It also has the Village Green located next to the Community Center providing ample room for staging and the Community Health Fair.  The trail is unique because of its scenic views, public art and both paved and unpaved paths.  The trail has numerous amenities and features that serve to educate and honor the community including the Peace obelisk to honor victims of 9/11, the mosaic history walls in the Character Garden, the vibrantly painted butterflies, the Celebration Garden, the Wave Wall on the Upper Oso Creek Trail, and the community murals surrounding the Village Green.  And many small animals and birds call the Oso Creek Trail home.

The City recognizes the important role our community organizations provide in Mission Viejo and this is one way we can support them and their efforts.  The City is able to implement events such as this so it’s an easy way for us to incorporate our local organizations into an event and help them fulfill their goals.  In the end… everyone wins with this type of a collaboration and it prevents the organizations from having to compete with each other to raise money.  Hopefully this is the first of many opportunities to pool resources and get the various community organizations working together.

I didn’t know anything about Children’s Cerebral Palsy Movement until I received a call from Debbie Fragner who was interested in hosting a 5K event in Mission Viejo.  After meeting with her and discussing the possibility of working together… she gave me the final push I needed to implement the 5K which my team had been talking about doing for a few years.  Through the desire to help her organization and bring more awareness to the Children’s Cerebral Palsy Movement, we agreed to incorporate the two children’s runs with her organization’s help.  The City of Mission Viejo has a long history of supporting programs which provide inclusion opportunities and we’ve even offered some ourselves.  This aspect of the event fits perfectly into our programming model and we are proud to be a part of it.

There will be over 60 health related businesses and organizations in the Health Fair component.  The vendors will include many medical and dental professionals, local medical centers, fitness related venues (ex. gyms, YMCA and City fitness centers), and organizations promoting fitness programs such as Silver Sneakers.  Some of the vendors will be offering screenings such as injury assessments and dental visual exams.