“The Family That Walks Together, Talks Together”
An Friends Family Walk is a noncompetitive 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) walk. It’s not a race, and the goal isn’t to cross the finish line first. Rather, the goal is to encourage family togetherness and good health. Participants can walk as a family, with friends, or with Circles of Friends. You provide the planning and organization, walkers bring all their own equipment, and God takes care of the scenery. Which means Family Walks are easy. Family Walks provide an excellent opportunity for families, Circles of Friends, or other groups to talk as they walk. And to help keep the discussion going, we’ll provide discussion prompts for every kilometer mark. Some walks are “Family Acts of Kindness” walks. These are mobile service projects that give families something to do as they complete the walk. Other walks are topical-discussion and skill-building walks that deal with subjects such as “How can you be a good friend?” and “How to make good decisions.” As families walk, they share stories, insights, and engage in meaningful conversation.

Family Walks literally change lives as busy family members set aside time to engage in gentle exercise, focus on each other, and create memories together. Here’s your guide to creating Family Walks that will be the talk of the town—and encourage all sorts of people to attend. Plus, you’ll have a great community awareness–raising event that lets neighbors know your Friends program is really going somewhere!

Tip From the Trenches
Do it right and you’ll never walk alone! Invite other Friends programs in your area to join you at your walk—and join them at theirs. It takes some coordinating so you don’t hold walks on the same days, but it’s worth the phone calls and scheduling. Your families will love seeing that they’re part of something big and exciting.

Where to hold your Family Walk
FAQs
Countdown for Planning a Friends Family Walk
Friends Family Walk Terminology
FREE Sample Letters and Forms for your Family Walk

Where to Hold Your Family Walk
You can mark a trail (more on that later) through your neighborhood, city streets, in a state park, down country lanes, anywhere there’s an interesting place to ramble. Deciding on a trail is up to you. Key factors to keep in mind:

The difficulty of the walk. Remember that small children and people with disabilities will be joining you.

Safety. Unless you’re sure every child will be with an adult at all times, stay away from heavily congested areas and avoid times when traffic is high. Keep in mind the time of day, lighting, and other safety concerns. Weekends and weekday evenings seem to work best for Family Walks.

Choose a “talkable trail.” Your goal is to encourage togetherness and communication, so choose a walking path that isn’t too noisy, or surrounded by distractions. Walking through a suburb or park will work well, cutting across the grounds of a carnival or amusement park won’t.

Keep it simple. You’ll need to provide a map, and make sure the trail is clearly blazed with kilometer markers and arrows. Be sure walkers have what they need to complete the trail even if your trail markers disappear before the end of the walk.
Make it friendly for guests. Many people are interested in family activities and good health, so with a bit of advertising, you’ll attract potential Friends members! Vary walking trails from one event to the next so you can introduce as many neighborhoods as possible to Friends.

Tip: How Your Family Walk Can Pay for Itself
Expenses associated with a Family Walk are minimal. You’ll need to provide card tables for the check-in and refreshment areas, candy, and photocopied maps of your trail. Each walk requires some photocopied signs and kilometer markers as well. It’s up to you whether you charge for participation. If you ask families to pay a nominal fee when they register, this will cover your costs and encourage families to actually come on the day of the event. Have walking staffs available for purchase or loan. Encourage each family to have a walking staff to serve as a family memory-maker. Families can carve a date into the staff for each walk they complete. Check with your church insurance provider to see if any additional event coverage is recommended. If so, the nominal cost is well worth the investment.

Tip From the Trenches
If you choose to require a nominal registration fee, do so with a stated policy of no refunds. This policy removes debate about what does or doesn’t qualify as an extreme circumstance meriting a refund. And if you feel a refund is reasonable for a specific situation you can make one as an exception without changing your policy.

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Family Walk FAQs

Why just a 5K course?
Most families can complete a 5K course in less than two hours. That time fits into most schedules, and encourages families to add a few minutes to see the sights, shop, hang around for a snack, or chat with other walkers. If you plan for your finish site to be a neighborhood playground, you’ll encourage families to get to know each other as their children play.

Do Family Walks always have to be easy?
No, but the more difficult the trail, the more you limit who can participate. Start with an easy walk, then consider adding more difficult Family Walks later. Be sure to clearly communicate how difficult each walk is so families know how to prepare. Here’s a simple rating system to help you evaluate potential walks:

Easy: An easy walk exclusively on pavement or a well-maintained trail. No hills. Suitable for baby strollers, wheelchairs, and young children.

Moderately Easy: May be on pavement or on maintained trails. No steep hills. May not be suitable for baby strollers, wheelchairs, and young children.

Moderately Challenging: Any setting, with some difficult terrain involved. Includes steps, hills, or broken trail.

Challenging: A difficult walk, probably in a natural setting with steeper hills and a poorly maintained path. Walkers with certain health problems should probably not participate.

Difficult: Trailblazing stuff, entirely in woods, mountain terrain, or uneven fields. Steep hills and valleys likely. Possible unstable inclines or high altitude. The presence of a first-aid station is suggested. Unsuitable walk for anyone not in good health.

When should I schedule my Family Walk?
The precise date and time is up to you, but here are some things to keep in mind:
What else is on the schedule? A family event scheduled the same weekend as the Super Bowl or the county fair won’t draw much of a crowd. Find out what’s on the community and church calendars, and avoid conflicts. But note: A Family Walk can take advantage of a local festival or fair by beginning and ending at or near the site of the other event. What’s typical weather? The time of year determines impacts when to begin and end the walk. In the summer start extra early or late to avoid midday heat. In winter, get your walk finished by the time the sun sets.

Avoid the black hole of Saturday morning. If you try to compete with a soccer or basketball schedule, you’re doomed. Before scheduling your walks on Saturday morning, call at least ten parents of Friends kids and ask how busy they are on Saturday mornings. If they’re already booked, switch to afternoons or early evenings. A typical walk lasts six hours—but advertise only four. For example, list the start times as 7:00 a.m. through 11:00 a.m., and indicate that walkers must complete the walk by 1:00 p.m. This provides flexibility for walkers, but guarantees you’ll complete the event in a reasonable amount of time.

How can I use a Family Walk to advertise my Friends program?
The best way is to invite people. Encourage children to invite their friends and their friends’ families. Notify your local paper that the event is open to the public. All kilometer markers have the Friends logo, so wear your Friends T-shirts as a discussion starter. When walkers register or complete the walk, invite them to Friends. Have written information about your meeting time and location to distribute to all participants not currently enrolled in Friends.
And don’t forget to invite other Friends programs in your area to join you! Families that enjoy Family Walks will appreciate the chance to participate often, and you’ll send a message to your community that Friends is the place to be!

Do I need to get permission to hold a Family Walk?
Some communities require event licenses. Others forbid the posting of signage (even taping a kilometer marker on a lamppost) without a permit. Always contact local authorities to make sure you’re in compliance with local requirements. And be certain to remove all signs at the end of your walk. Doing so encourages local authorities to grant permission for future Family Walks.

What if it rains? or snows? or worse?
Avoid last-minute confusion by advertising your walk will happen “rain or shine.” Most inclement weather can be overcome with proper clothing. Consider setting up a “Family Walk Hot Line” so walkers can get last-minute information. An answering machine set to “message only” will give you all the technology you need to give a day-of-event confirmation that the event is on or off. Your host church may well have an unused phone extension available for such a short-term use. Include the phone number on all advertising. And if a local radio or television station has a reliable, frequently updated weather hot line, include that number in your advertising too.

How do I mark a trail?
Use kilometer markers and arrows to indicate distance and major turns. But in case someone reverses an arrow or tears down signs, have the trail clearly marked on the map you give each walker. Assume signs will be tampered with and you’ll avoid anyone becoming lost. Attach signs with string or masking tape to objects in a way that allows you to remove them without leaving a trace or damaging any property. In wooded areas tie pieces of bright nylon or ribbon on branches or brush to mark the trail. You’ll be able to remove the markers without marring nature.

What if someone gets hurt on the walk?
Accidents can easily hurt both the people injured and your Friends program.
Protect walkers. Arm volunteers at the Check-In/Finish Table and Refreshment Table with cell phones and the number of local emergency care providers. Have sunscreen and adhesive bandages on hand for walkers to use. Keep a close eye on your check-in/check-out sheet; don’t consider the walk over until you can account for every person who has checked in. Be clear that all those who check in must return to check out—even if they choose not to finish the walk. And by far the best way to avoid accidents is to have a clearly marked, easily walked trail. Plan to avoid dangerous situations, not respond to them!

Protect your Friends program. Require each walker to complete and sign a release form absolving your Friends program, sponsoring church, and staff of any liability for accidents that might happen on the walk. Contact your church’s legal counsel (or ask a lawyer to volunteer his or her services for this task) and require each walker to fill out the form—every Walk.

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Countdown for Planning a Friends Family Walk

Now

• Select tentative dates for quarterly Family Walks this year. Coordinate with other Friends programs in your area.
• Brainstorm advertising opportunities such as church bulletins, community papers, Friends families.
• Pray for the event.

Eight weeks before the Walk

• Lay out the trail and walk it to confirm difficulty rating and safety.
• Contact local authorities to arrange for licenses or certificates.
• Select theme of the Walk (you’ll get two options in every Director Quarterly Update).
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants

Seven weeks before the Walk

• Recruit volunteers to staff the walk—including two “floaters.”
• Place notice in host church’s bulletin.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

Six weeks before the Walk

• Send an invitation home with every child at Friends. • Invite each volunteer to participate.
• Contact local merchants on the walk route to see about discounts for walkers who stop in.
• Determine where kilometer markers and arrows will be placed.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

Five weeks before the Walk

• Continue advertising through local churches and Friends.
• Remind other Friends programs about participating.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

Four weeks before the Walk

• Confirm volunteers.
• Send press release to area papers.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

Three weeks before the Walk

• Check to see that the Check-In/Finish Table volunteer has information about your Friends program and your next Family Walk date.
• If supplies are needed for the Walk (sidewalk chalk, garbage bags, or other materials), get them and give them to appropriate people.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

Two weeks before the Walk

• Confirm volunteers.
• Create map of trail and walk or drive it to confirm accuracy.
• Confirm what will be served at snack table and make sure snacks are purchased.
• Continue inviting Friends kids—send home a sheet giving information about the event (see below)[ALERT LOCATION], and speak with parents who pick up kids after the Closing Celebration.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

One week before the Walk

• Photocopy kilometer markers, arrows, and maps. Get change and single bills for the cash box if you’re charging for registration.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

One day before the Walk

• Check in with volunteers by phone.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

Three hours before the Walk

• Mark the trail by posting kilometer markers and arrows in appropriate spots. Use tape, string, or other easily removed (but durable!) methods to affix markers and arrows.
• Pray for the event, and your volunteers and participants.

One hour before the Walk

• Set up tables at the Check-In/Finish and Refreshment areas.
• Provide adequate pens, pencils, and release forms for all walkers.
• Place Registration Forms at the Check-In Table.

One hour after the Walk

• Confirm that all walkers who checked in have returned.
• Walk the trail and remove all signs, litter, and trail markers.
• Thank all volunteers.

One day after the Walk

• File check-in/check-out sheets and release forms.
• Send thank-you notes to all volunteers. Re-recruit them for the next walk! (“Care Cards” available from Group Publishing or your local Christian bookstore.)
• Count and deposit all cash.
• Store Family Walk supplies.
• Return any borrowed tables, chairs, or other materials.

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Friends Family Walk Terminology

Friends Family Walk—a noncompetitive, non-timed group hiking event. The goals are to encourage family togetherness and communication, and good health.

Walker—Any person participating in an Friends Family Walk, whether or not a member of an Friends program.

Walking Safety Vest—This reflective vest makes it easy to be seen by traffic, and keeps kids visible to parents. Buy them to loan out or encourage families to purchase their own.

Kilometer Marker—Along the hiking trail, every kilometer completed is indicated with a clearly posted sign. This helps families pace themselves, and to feel a sense of accomplishment. Each kilometer equals six-tenths of a mile. A 5K hike is approximately 3.2 miles.

Arrow Marker—A direction sign to help walkers stay on the trail.

Walker Number—It’s important to know how many people are on the hike, and when they left and returned. Every walker must check in and indicate when he or she is starting the walk, then sign back out when the walk is completed.

Hand Stamp—A unique stamp, using washable ink, lets Family Walk volunteers know who is—and isn’t—a part of the event. This stamp may also entitle walkers to a prearranged discount at merchants along the route of the walk. Any washable hand stamp works, but vary them from Walk to Walk.

Check-In Table—This is where walkers register, pick up maps, get their Walker Numbers, and have their hands stamped so volunteers at the Refreshment Table know who is to receive snacks and drinks.

Refreshment Table—Placed at about the 3K mark, this table provides fresh, cool water, sports drinks, and easy-to-munch snacks such as pretzels, hard candy (for adults), and trail mix. The volunteer at this table distributes these goodies free to registered walkers whose hands are stamped. Ideally, this site will also have a restroom available.

Finish Table—Probably the same table as the Check-In Table, but the other end! Here’s where walkers pick up their Certificates, get Friends information, fill out a comment card, and can buy snacks and refreshments. Everyone is greeted with applause and appreciation, and is encouraged to hang out and socialize.

Start/Finish Time—Families have busy schedules, so hold your walk over a six-hour period (such as 7:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.) Walkers can begin as early as 7:00 a.m., but must be completed by 1 p.m.

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FREE Sample Letters and Forms for your Family Walk
	Letter #1: Adapt this letter to send home with your children—use 8.5 x 11 paper.
	Letter #2: Adapt this note to send home with your kids a few weeks before a Family Walk—use 8.5 x 11 paper.
	Friends Family Walk Registration Form—use 8.5 x 11 paper.
	Friends Family Walk Waiver and Release of Liability Form —use 8.5 x 11 paper.
	Friends Family Walk Comment Card
	Information Sheets for Friends Family Walkers—use 8.5 x 11 paper.