Apr. 29, 2005

Active for Life Program Boosts Morale for Putnam
Savings Bank Employees
Return to News Releases

April 29, 2005: Putnam Savings Bank's Active for Life Program Official Kickoff. Active for Life^sm is the American Cancer Society's (the Society) flexible 10-week program that encourages people to be more active on a regular basis. The Society works with local companies to establish Active for Life to help people change their lifestyle patterns-both diet and exercise-and become healthier.

"Employees become healthier and feel better as a result of participating in the program," says Barbara Elliott, Assistant Vice President and Human Resources Officer at Putnam Savings. "We have employees in the program who are more motivated and productive, because they know that the Bank cares about their health. It could also have an impact on absenteeism due to illness, and in turn could help to reduce medical costs. So the benefits work both ways."

Active for Life is a ten-week wellness program designed to encourage workable fitness goals and boost job performance and morale. The program is set up to boost teamwork, improve employee health and fitness, and reduce absenteeism, turnover and medical costs. Participants set their own individual fitness goals based on how active they are and record the number of points they earn for each minute they are active daily toward a total point goal. This helps people track progress and rewards them for reaching goals. Teams are formed to provide motivation and support.

"Fitness goals and activities are realistic," says Elliott. "Employees get points for small improvements in fitness activities, such as walking up and down stairs instead of taking elevators, raking the lawn, and parking further away from the mall to promote walking. It's surprising how these minor changes add up at the end of the day."

But it's more than just exercise, says Elliott. "At our Kickoff a nurse from Day Kimball Hospital was there for the morning taking blood pressure and cholesterol readings. Also, a representative from Anthem Insurance was there with his own health points program that the employees could participate in at the same time."

"We also supplied our employees with information about the role that diet plays toward good health," says Shauna Baxter, Elliott's assistant. "We had the Society's Healthy Eating cookbook available with recipe information, as well as juices, health-food snacks, fruit, energy bars, and water bottles."

"We're also providing extra incentive for reaching fitness goals," says Baxter. "We've arranged a very special rate with Key Gym in Putnam for our ten-week program for those employees who want to work out. We'll also be raffling gift certificates for produce stands and local businesses to teams who reach their fitness point goals. We have 90 employees at Putnam Savings Bank-our goal was to get half of them involved and we surpassed our goal by having 60 participants."

"We're hoping to run the program again next year," says Elliott. "We'd like to see how many more employees will get involved, once they find out how positive the program has been for their coworkers."

Why the Active for Life Program Works
"When you exercise more, eat healthy foods and take vitamins, you build your immune system. You have less chance of getting catastrophic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease," says Shannon Stahecki, Community Executive for Development for the American Cancer Society. "But you also have less chance of catching colds and the flu. That means you're less likely to miss work, and be healthier when you are on the job. That means less absenteeism, better productivity, and ultimately, improved morale."

"It's amazing how taking 15-minute breaks to get out and walk can improve health and productivity," agrees Ursula Pussinen, Community Executive, Cancer Control, and Stahecki's colleague. "Today a lot of organizations involved in the Active for Life program are giving employees an extra fifteen minutes for lunch to walk. They're finding it's time well spent in what they get back from employees in both attitude and performance."

"Implementing the Active for Life Program in a company allows us to get the message about disease prevention to many people-the participants and their families. And because the program promotes healthy lifestyle changes, the message sticks," says Pussinen.

Each year, an estimated 250,000 deaths are attributed to a lack of physical activity. Regular physical activity can help reduce the risk for the major killers in America: heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. In addition, studies have shown that people who are physically active manage stress better, sleep better and feel better. Active for Life can give everyone-regardless of their current level of activity-the motivation they need to be more active.

For more information about starting an Active for Life program at your worksite, contact your local American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.

The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering and preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy and service. Founded in 1913 and with national headquarters in Atlanta, the Society has 14 regional Divisions and local offices in 3,400 communities, involving millions of volunteers across the United States. For more information anytime, call toll free 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.