Evesham officials were presented with the designation at a council meeting. The township was cited for its commitment to community health.
Evesham Township has again been designated a healthy town in the Mayors Wellness Campaign – its fifth – an honor council officially accepted from the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute at a recent meeting.
“This recognition is part of the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign, which is a state-wide community-health initiative (where) we provide mayors and local leaders with evidence-based resources and strategies in their efforts to improve the health and wellness of their communities,” explained the institute’s Virginia Tesser at the meeting.
“(The award) is really a testament to their commitment to community health,” she added of the township’s five consecutive healthy town designations. “From expanding outdoor events and mental-health initiatives to prioritizing senior wellness and youth engagement, (Evesham) is committed to community health.” Tesser added.
“We congratulate you for your efforts. To (the township) and the whole community, this is a well-deserved recognition.”
Municipalities achieve the healthy town designation by improving the health and wellness of their residents. Each must design and implement a slate of programs and initiatives to help residents improve their physical, mental and spiritual well-being. The distinction places the township among just 32 municipalities in the state for 2024.
Evesham’s community health initiatives include maintaining and reinvesting in high-quality parks and athletic fields, securing a $731,000 Green Acres Grant to build an all-inclusive playground for children of all abilities, budgeting $2.2 million for eight new pickleball courts outside the local community center, hosting multiple seminars on better health and running the annual Marlton Farmer’s Market of healthy food choices.
The township also organizes fitness-focused events through its police department, including outdoor boot camps, self-defense classes and major sports activities. Mayor Jackie Veasy noted how Evesham’s initiatives have resulted in years of the healthy town recognition.
“I want to thank all the members of our economic advisory committee, disability and veterans affairs advisory board, senior citizen advisory board, youth advisory committee, our environmental commission, our green team and our police department,” she noted, “(as well as) all the volunteers we have throughout our whole community who help make us a healthy town.
“I just want to thank everyone for all the work they do,” she added, “because this is not just something that we as a council do, but a whole thing as a community, and all of the support we get from township staff to help make it happen.”
