Walks & Talks

Planning

1. Set a date, time, route, and location for the talk.
2. Find speakers for the talk – this can be a public health or healthcare professional or a local community member who has a powerful story to share.
3. Request a police escort from law enforcement for traffic safety during the walk.
4. Coordinate the walk leaders – consider a drum group in the back of a pickup or on a trailer, and large banners or posters for walkers to carry so on-lookers know what the walk is about.
5. Hand out flyers with facts or if it fits in your budget, get give-aways that promote your message.
6. Promote the Walk & Talk on social media, newspaper, radio, flyers and by inviting specific groups.
7. Invite news reporters to cover the event.
8. Day of the event.
   1. Set up a registration table to track participants and give information, water, and wearables.
   2. Designate one person to take and share photos or live feed for social media.
9. Following the event – If news reporters don’t cover the event, submit a press release and photos to local newspapers. If you have leftover banners or posters, hang them up in a prominent location.

Materials needed

• Something for participants to wear during the walk, like t-shirts, ribbons, or stickers (link to give-a-way section), or encourage them all to wear the same color
• Pre-made posters/banners for walkers to carry or materials for participants to make their own poster
• Water, light snacks and a first aid kit for walkers
• Handouts for participants to read during the talk
• PA system for talk (depends on room size and acoustics)

Hints

• Tribes sometimes offer administrative leave for tribal employees to attend educational or wellness events. This can improve participation!
• Having an open-mic for participants to share their reason for caring about the issue can solicit some very powerful stories.
• If you invite a drum group, plan to give the singers a gift or a donation to the drum.

To include cultural lifeways, we… invite the drum group to sing one honor song for all of our tribal members who have suffered or died from a tobacco-related disease, and another honor song and handshake line for all the participants who have successfully quit using tobacco.