Studies in Excellence:
Increasing the Capabilities
of the Community
Getting The Community Involved
When the YMCA launched its Activate America® Initiative,
several of the Philadelphia-area YMCA systems were among
the first in the country to adopt the program. Their vision
was to address every aspect of health in a dynamic online
site: diet, exercise, blood pressure, etc. and support
community members' healthy lifestyle habits.
Comprehensive Capabilities
Neptune Moon was engaged to design and program the functionality
of the website. The centerpiece of the site was the Personal
Fitness Tracker, custom-designed by Neptune Moon. This
resource allowed visitors to:
- Track health information
(weight, measurements, blood pressure, etc.)
- Record fitness
activities
- Earn rewards for meeting goals
- Utilize the interactive
community events calendar
Members could also participate in group fitness challenges
and compete to win prizes. Some group challenges were open
to the general public (such as a weight loss challenge),
and some were specific to certain institutions (for instance,
the secondary education schools in the area engaged in
a group exercise challenge). Participants would log their
successes in their personal profiles, and the information
was then carried over to be tallied into the group totals.
Simplified Administration
The system designed by Neptune Moon also provided for
efficient site administration. Capabilities included:
- User
permission system controlling access to the backend of
the application
- Comprehensive reporting with many sorting
options
- Calendar and event management
- Group challenge administration
- News and announcement
updating
- Privacy protection of individuals in data reporting
An Enthusiastic Response
The web site met with an enthusiastic response from both
individuals and institutions. The comprehensive
nature of the functionality of the site encouraged extensive
and long-term participation, leading to improved health
and fitness in the community. |
