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Celebrate and promote health in your community by hosting your own NPHW event! Join the movement to create the Healthiest Nation in One Generation and promote health behavior by bringing your family, friends, co-workers and community members together, virtually or in-person! This toolkit includes ideas to get you started and a timeline to help with your planning.
Event Ideas
Organize events centered around the NPHW overall theme and/or the daily themes. Here are a few ideas:
For community health centers
- Host a watch party for a film about one of the daily themes
- Host an exercise class (either virtually or in-person)
- Organize a community run/walk/bike ride
- Organize a community clean-up
- Organize a community cook-off/potluck showcasing healthy foods from around the world
For college organizations/campuses
- Host training on how to use Narcan or for CPR certifications
- Partner with other on-campus orgs for events like blood donation drive, creating care packages for homeless populations and other fundraising events (e.g., charity banquet, cultural talent show)
- Work with your rec center to host an exercise class on-campus
- Host a therapy dogs event
- Organize health panels and discussions
- Organize professional development events with alumni and local leaders (e.g., mentorship mixers, career panels, resume workshop, etc.)
- Organize a letter-writing campaign advocating for your community and important public health issues to your local elected officials
For hospitals
- Organize a webinar for health professionals
- Host an exercise/destress class
For congregations/churches
- Collection drives (e.g., canned food, baby formula) & soup kitchens featuring foods from the different cultures of your congregations’/church members’
- Host a blood donation drive
Why should you host an event?
- Raise awareness about the value of public health and our collective work to create a healthier nation
- Raise awareness of important public health issues and improve advocacy
- Recognize the hard work of our communities as we continue to work together to see the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and improve the whole of public health
- Learn more about the importance of centering and celebrating cultures in public health
- Recruit more members for your organization; to build relationships with other public health organizations and strengthen presence within local communities
Timeline
10-12 weeks before:
- Determine scope of event(s) based on needs of community/NPHW theme(s)
- Identify stakeholders/compile invite list, including key attendees, host/moderators and partners
- Identify purpose and goals of event(s)
- Prepare budget/search for potential sponsors/donors
- Determine expenses and potential income
10 weeks before:
- Identify team member duties
- Reach out to sponsors/donors
- Identify speakers/presenters and send invitations
- Identify venue/reserve space, considering room size, AV needs, options for hybrid events, accessibility for speakers and attendees
- Confirm equipment needed for event
- Decide need for catering/refreshments, and if available, select a caterer that has sustainable food options
8-10 weeks before:
- Negotiate contracts with speakers/performers and if applicable, caterers
- Make emergency/contingency plans in the event of power outage, weather, illness
8 weeks before:
- Deadline for confirmation/contracts
6-8 weeks before:
- Draft event flow/agenda by meeting with speakers, partners and hosts
- Create draft of promotional materials, review available shareables on NPHW site for use in promotional materials
6 weeks before:
- Print needed posters/flyers for events, make available for email sharing
- Distribute flyers to partners and organizers
- Order swag/giveaways
4-6 weeks before:
- Post flyers in key areas
- Promote event on social media and via email, use communication tools already at your fingertips, such as publications, email lists, bulletin boards, social media accounts and announcements
- Share with followers/friends/like-minded organizations for cross promotion
- Open event registration/RSVPs
- Post your event on NPHW calendar
- Decide what media you would like to invite to your event & reach out
- If needed, rent event equipment
- If in-person: design room setup
4 weeks before:
- Send event invitations to the general public and personal invitations to VIPs
- Confirm attendance of your speakers, public health partners and local stakeholders
- Put out a call for volunteers, if needed
2 weeks before:
- Finalize event flow/agenda and logistics
- Finalize your volunteers
- Continue event promotion on social media
- Prepare necessary materials for attendees, such as fact sheets, programs, relevant resources
- Send press release about event to media
1 week before:
- Follow up with local media
- Ready speakers for media inquiries
- Appoint a photographer for the event (could be an in-house staffer!)
- Appoint someone to live tweet during the event
- Confirm VIP attendance
- Provide social media posts/tweets to VIP attendees and speakers and ask them to post to their own networks to promote the event
- Continue promoting the event using social media and other tools
Week of:
- If using virtual platforms: practice event flow with speakers and staff
- Confirm speakers and distribute run-of-show schedule
- Test technology and equipment for event
1-2 days before:
- Prepare supplies needed for day of
- Send event reminder to attendees, speakers, media members
Day of:
- Finalize room set up, put up decorations and refreshments
- Greet your attendees & hold your event!
Post-event (day of):
- Clean up
- Transcribe sign-in sheet to make note of who attended
Week after:
- Team debriefs
- Collect feedback
- Begin event evaluation
- Send thank-you notes or emails to speakers and attendees
- Follow up with any media or policymakers who attended
- Follow up on any questions or suggestions people made during the event — particularly for online events if you don't have time to take all questions
- Use pictures, quotes and other content from the event in future social media posts or other communications efforts
Other Helpful Tips
Follow COVID precautions (for in-person events): Prioritize the health of your community at your in-person NPHW event by encouraging social distancing, mask wearing and vaccination. For more information on how to safely host an event, consult the CDC’s event planning guide.
Tap into social media: Share pictures and posts with the hashtag #NPHW before and after the event to promote and share its success!
Create partnerships: Partner with a local health-oriented organization to sponsor events. Local health-conscious restaurants, exercise facilities and food companies are a great place to start and can provide snacks and samples to promote their products and healthy practices during events.
Publicize your NPHW event
Publicize your NPHW events by completing a calendar event form and check out what else is going on in your community and throughout the nation.
View this year's NPHW calendar.