Community SOCIAL CAPITAL measured for the first time in WNY!

Preliminary Findings to be released in late Spring 2017!

Contact PHIL HABERSTRO or JAMES QUINN Phone: (716) 851-4052 Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Buffalo, N.Y. July 6, 2015 – The nonprofit Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo is pleased to announce their new social capital initiative. The Wellness Institute is teaming up with Buffalo State College to measure community well-being through the lens of Social capital.. Leading the team is the Institute’s Director of Social Capital initiatives, James Quinn and the Wellness Institute’s Executive Director, Phil Haberstro. Academic support is being provided by Buffalo State’s Dr. Scott Roberts of the Health and Wellness Department and Jon Slaughter our statistics professional who will be heading the project’s analysis. After extensive research, the team decided to measure community well-being by measuring the asset known as social capital. The confidential survey is available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/Connected716 Social capital is considered by many researchers as “the glue that holds society together.” The formal definition of social capital is “the features of social life, networks, norms, and trust that enable participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared objectives (Robert Putnam, Harvard University).”

Increasingly over the past decades, social researchers have studied how social capital effects the community. Studies have documented that social capital plays a vital role in health, happiness, community safety, and economic prosperity. A 2003 Chicago study noted that mortality rates of all types dropped in geographic areas with higher levels of social capital. Researchers at the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale University have found evidence that social capital in the form of community pride significantly reduces gun violence and street crime. Researchers have conducted numerous empirical studies that highlight that the presence of social capital creates a better economic environment for businesses and citizens alike. This is a direct result of the greater cultivation of human capital or working skills and the spread of information such as employment opportunities that strong networks of social capital create (Coleman, Columbia University).

Strong networks between social circles, or bridging social capital, allow information about health, employment, and community services to flow more effectively through a community. Strong networks of social capital also contributes to our trust. That is, our general trust in others like our colleagues, and especially our trust in our neighbors. Without trust, collaboration is virtually impossible. Since community well-being plays such a vital role in our health, happiness, economic sustainability, and our ability to collaborate to solve local issues, the Wellness Institute has made measuring social capital a key priority so our community can manage and improve our stock of social capital. Buffalo is indeed in a renaissance, so growth must be done intelligently if we are to sustain our new found community strength. Buffalo is considered by many to be the “City of good neighbors.” In a lot of ways, this study is exploring this very notion. Given the amount of evidence in recent studies, living in an area with good neighbors is highly beneficial. Your well-being may even depend on it!

Starting the summer of 2015, the Wellness Institute and its partners have been promoting the pilot survey thru the above link on their website (www.CreatingHealthyCommunities.org) and social media for members of the Greater Buffalo community to participate in this confidential survey. Mr. James Quinn (Initiative Director) and his partners have been hosting an information table at local events (Bidwell Farmers market, Wellness days). As an incentive for filling out the survey, the Wellness Institute will enter all participants in a drawing to win two season passes to Explore Buffalo (See www.ExploreBuffalo.org) .. The Wellness Institute Social Capital measurement team is asking the citizens of Greater Buffalo to complete this brief and confidential survey and share with others so that the Team may establish a community benchmark of social capital as well as an answer to our question “Are we the City of good neighbors?” The initial pilot survey period started July 6^th and ran until DECEMBER, 31, 2015. For more information or a speaker on social capital, please contact Mr. Quinn at the Wellness Institute (716)851-4052 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank You!

B-Well: City of Buffalo Wellness Program

Shifting any Community’s culture to one that supports regular physical activity and provides a more walkable environment for residents of all ages is an exciting and real civic challenge. Add in the elements of four very distinct weather seasons and you have an authentic test of community creativity and persistence. Impacting citizen regular physical activity at all life stages was one of the tall orders faced by the City of Buffalo New York’s “B-Well” Program and its’ many partners. Founded in 1989 the B-WELL program is managed for the City by the non-profit Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo, “B-Well” made its’ first strategic decision to improve regular physical activity in the City’s older adult population. Successfully launching, in the Spring of 1992, the City’s first ever “Golden Years” Wellness Walk in the Park (Buffalo is blessed with a fabulous Olmsted park system) started the movement of the walking program. The initial Spring walk was expanded to a full series of Fall park walks (with their beautiful colors!) and into a Winter season of indoor walks in area malls and back into our County Parks the following Spring. Years later, with the growth of the City’s Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, we added the dimension of noontime Summer guided walks for employees and visitors to the Medical Campus. By 2007, “B-Well”s first humble Golden Years walk had turned into a year-round “Be Active” series of walks featuring multiple partners and opportunities for persons of all ages to gain the benefits of regular physical activity through its’ most popular (and least expensive) form : WALKING! But wait – our journey does not end there, as we added the Walk Your Children to School initiative to our menu. A City Bike/Pedestrian Committee was formed, Complete Streets legislation was passed and in 2014 a “metric” was added by counting the steps taken by the participants in the 50+ walks. “B-Well” and the Wellness Institute coordinates with their partners in the “City of Good Neighbors” and the County of Erie, New York. Leading the way to 10 Million Plus steps counted in 2014 was Wellness Institute Affiliate Explore Buffalo, which provides the Community with wonderful “walking” tours of Buffalo’s outstanding architecture and history. In 2015, “B-Well” and the Wellness Institute had set a Community goal of 15 million steps. January 2016 data compliatin totaled over 34 Million steps recorded with an ever growing Explore Buffalo again leading the way! For 2016 an ambitious GOAL Of 40 Million steps has been established In addition to the Be Active walks, local runs and walks are invited to add their steps into the 40 million steps goal. With all our partners (Incuding REFRESH magazine) and improving environmental support(new trails opening Spring 2016 in Tonawanda and North Buffalo), (and those branding Buffalo, New York as the best designed city in America), we are confident that our shared Vision of more physical activity and a more walkable and bikeable City and region is in the process of achievement.

Philip Haberstro
Buffalo, NY

- See more at: http://americawalks.org/success_story/b-well-city-of-buffalo-wellness-program/#sthash.bXk8dyA7.dpuf

WI's Haberstro is Certified Trainer for CDC's Work@Health Program...

In 2014, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the National Work@Health Employer Training Program. The Work@Health Program is designed to train employers , from all sectors how to establish, expand and improve science- and practice-based health promotion strategies that lead to specific, measurable outcomes to reduce employee chronic disease rates in the work place.

The Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo's Executive Director,Philip L.Habersto was selected by CDC as one of 60 participants for the National training program that featured a Train-The-Trainer module, intended to provide trainers with the skills and most current tools to provide employers with training to promote health in their workplaces to prevent or reduce chronic illness and disability, improve productivity and the competetiveness of participating employers through the CDC's Work@Health program.

With his training completed , Phil has earned the title of CDC Work@Health Certified Trainer and received a CDC certificate of achievement that recognizes his leadership and level of expertise in workplace health promotion. Through the non profit Wellness Institute of Greater Bufalo Phil brings his knowlege and experience to the WNY region, and offers the CDC training for a comprehensive workplace health program to ALL WNY employers. WNY area Chambers of Commerce , Union leadership , Health Insurers , Benefits firms, Elected Oficials, Economic deveolpment professionals , Human resource professionals and employers , of all sizes from ALL sectors , interested in learning more about starting a comprehensive employee wellness program or strengthening an existing work place wellness program may contact the Wellnes Institute at 716 851-4052 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For more Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo services and on-line employee wellness resources please visit The Buffalo Wellness Institute's (BWI)National Health Promotion Training Institute at www.bwihp.org or www.IgniteHealthnow.com Thank You!

WELLNESS INSTITUTE SETS 50 MILLION STEP GOAL FOR 2017 !! Wiil aslo strive to improve community walkability !

To positivly and sustainably impact our community's health . environment ,social capital and economy the nonprofit Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo and its many community partners have set a community wide physical activity goal of achieving 50 Million Steps walked/rolled in 2017 among all age groups in the BUFALO NIAGARA REGION ! With a primary focus on leading and promoting community walks and improving WALKABILITY The Institue will track and report quarterly the number of steps taken by participants in the walks that the Institute, its affiliates, community partners and friends achieve in 2017. In addition the Wellness Instiute Staff and partners will be available to comminities to train them on policy and built environment actions they can take to enhance community WAKABILITY. Wellness Institute Executive Director Phil Haberstro noted "The 50 Million+ Steps initiative,while having merit on its own, supports other community initiatves like the Erie County Department of Health"s cardiovascular health improving MILLION HEARTS CAMPAIGN ,the upcoming P2 Collaborative"s Regional STEPS initiative; IHA /BILLS Community HEALTH AND WELLNESS CHALLENGE and a wide range of community walks/runs that the Institute either leads , is a partner or supporter of. Phil added"The strategic path to a healthier community population is built on a foundation of sustainable inter-sector and inter-disciplinary collaboration and a comprehensive approach to community culture support."

Leading the collaborative way is "Explore Buffalo", a former Affiliate of the nonprofit Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo. Explore Buffalo provides walking, biking and kayaking opportunities to discover Greater Buffalo's great architecture, history, and neighborhoods. Their mission is accomplished by providing guidance and encouragement to participants to develop their interest and skills in educating others on these valuable assets. Children are also offered the opportunity to learn about the history of Buffalo and their role in the future while offering health enhancing, social capital building, and environmentally friendly activities.

Explore Buffalo Executive Director Brad Hahn noted, "Adding up all of the people who have taken an Explore Buffalo walking tour in 2016 - currently about 17,000 - and multiplying it by an average of 3,000 steps per tour, we are currently contribiting over 36 MILLION steps! Our popular education and inspirational"WALKS" are real evidence of a community becoming healthier not only physically, but also socially, as people on our tours gain a greater appreciation of all that Buffalo Niagara has to offer."

Phil Haberstro of the Wellness Insitute added, "The steps from the 2016 Explore Buffalo Walks, the BeActive Erie County Park and Mall Walks, the VBN Waltober Downtpwn Walk seriesr Walk, the Erie County Downtown Walk at Lunch walk, and the BNMC Wellness on Wednesday WOW Walk series, put the 2016 total steps over the 41 million mark and inspired us to set the 2017 community steps goal at 50 MILLION " With new trails oprning in the NorthTowns and North Buffalo , advocacy in the South towns for youth physical activity and comunuty walkability from Assemblyman Michael Kearns , support from REFRESH MAGAZINE , Wegmans , The Explore Buffalo Team and all of the Wellness Institute's Community Partners we are excited to be helping to get Greater Buffalo moving!! On Line Forms, will be available for individuals , employers and organizations to send in their event or activity STEP counts by contatcing the WELLNESS INSTITUTE at 851 4052 0r emailing : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. THANK YOU!