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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy Launch Second Year of the “Live the Riverfront” Partnership with May 1 Walking Event
bcbsm
| 3 min read
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy will celebrate the launch of this summer’s “Live the Riverfront” program by hosting a stroll along the water’s edge during Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s “Walk@Lunch Day” on Friday, May 1. People from all over the state are encouraged to join hundreds of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan employees and set time aside for a walk at some point during the day. In downtown Detroit, leaders from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy will lead a noon waterfront walk from Rivard Plaza through Milliken State Park. The multi-year Live the Riverfront partnership between Blue Cross and the RiverFront Conservancy promotes physical fitness and healthy living initiatives through a series of free or low-cost activities along the riverfront. In 2014, the first year of the partnership, more than 3,000 individuals participated in Live the Riverfront programming. Highlights of Live the Riverfront this year include a weekly, Wednesday lunchtime walking program, a 5K/10k walk/run, weekly riverfront fitness classes and the debut of a new fit park along the riverfront. “Last year, the tremendous success of Live the Riverfront allowed us to introduce the riverfront to many new people,” said Mark Wallace, president and CEO of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy. “We look forward to welcoming even more visitors this year and showing them that the Detroit riverfront is a vibrant and engaging destination for everyone to enjoy.” “Among all the great things happening downtown, this is among the most exciting. People are creating a culture of health and wellness in Detroit and we are proud to be part of that,” said Daniel J. Loepp, president and CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. “Through our partnership with the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, we are promoting one the city’s greatest assets and reaffirming our longstanding commitment to the city of Detroit.” Details of the Live the Riverfront initiative include:
About BCBSM Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BCBSM provides and administers health benefits to more than 4.4 million members residing in Michigan in addition to employees of Michigan-headquartered companies who reside outside the state. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com and MiBluesPerspectives.com. About The Detroit RiverFront Conservancy The Detroit RiverFront Conservancy is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 with the mission to develop public access to Detroit’s riverfront and serve as an anchor for economic development. As the permanent stewards of the RiverWalk and the Dequindre Cut, the Conservancy is responsible for raising the funds needed for construction, operation, maintenance, security and programming of the public spaces located along the riverfront. The Conservancy’s ultimate vision is to develop five-and-a-half miles of riverfront from the Ambassador Bridge on the west to Gabriel Richard Park, just east of the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle. The first phase of the project, 3.5 miles along the east riverfront, is now 80 percent complete and spans from Joe Louis Arena to Gabriel Richard Park. The first phase of the west riverfront project, a 20-acre parcel located on West Jefferson that features a wider RiverWalk and open green spaces, opened in summer 2014. Visit www.detroitriverfront.org for more information.
