NIRSA wins a ‘Power of A’ Silver Award for 2020 Recreation Movement

The 2020 Recreation Movement initiative–from NIRSA and Riddle & Bloom, in collaboration with scores of colleges and universities—has recently been recognized for extraordinary contributions and efforts to enrich lives, create a more competitive workforce, drive innovation, and make a better world by the Center for Association Leadership (ASAE) with a Power of A Award Silver Award for 2020!

About the Power of A Awards

ASAE’s Power of A (association) Awards, the industry’s highest honor, recognize the association community’s valuable contributions on the local, national and global levels. The Power of A Awards reward the outstanding accomplishments of associations and industry professionals who work tirelessly to solve problems, and strengthen lives, the workforce, the economy, and the world.

The 2020 award categories include The Power of Industry/Professional Advancement, The Power of Community Support and Engagement, The Power of Global Development, The Power of Diversity and Inclusion, and The Power of Advocacy.

NIRSA is one of 66 individuals or organizations to be honored across three categories: Summit Awards (6), Gold Awards (21), and Silver Awards (39). “Congratulations to NIRSA on being named among the very best organizations that go above and beyond their tax-exempt purpose to improve society and our quality of life in America and abroad,” says ASAE President and CEO Susan Robertson, CAE. “This has been a very trying year for associations, but even amid a months-long pandemic, associations are proving that positive change can happen. More than ever, the Power of Associations is on full display in this year’s award-winning programs, providing tangible evidence that associations will help lead the way toward economic and societal recovery in the months ahead.”

NIRSA and the other honorees will be celebrated during the ASAE Summit Awards Reception, which will take place virtually on September 30 from 6:00pm-7:30pm EDT.

About 2020 Recreation Movement

The 2020 Recreation Movement is a virtual fitness program that collects millions of movement minutes from participants, while connecting university students, faculty, staff, and alumni from across the country to offer opportunities for self-care and a sense of community during these uncertain times.

When participants log minutes, those minutes not only contribute to the holistic goal of ‘5 million minutes of movement’ but also counts toward their school’s total on a tracking leader board. The official first stint of the recreation movement ended on August 16 and Wake Forest University topped the leaderboard, with more than 260 students and staff logging more than an impressive 227,700 minutes over the summer.

“The opportunity to participate in Recreation Movement has been a valuable resource for all members of our Wake Forest University community. During a time in our lives when we might have found ourselves to be more sedentary, a virtual platform of engagement and friendly competition helped connect Wake Forest Demon Deacons from across the country. Students completing their spring and summer terms remotely, and employees working from home were all able to access the broad resources that the Recreation Movement provided. The ability to participate in virtual fitness activities hosted by other participating institutions also permitted our entire community to focus on how physical wellbeing intersects with the other dimensions of wellbeing. We look forward to participating (and winning!) again this coming fall!” — James Raper, Assistant Vice President for Health & Wellbeing at Wake Forest University

NIRSA & Riddle and Bloom are working to update the Recreation Movement webpage and we plan to relaunch the program by early September. Schools that are interested in participating are still able to sign up.

About Riddle & Bloom

“This opportunity came together quickly in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the role our partners at Riddle & Bloom played in its success cannot be understated,” says NIRSA’s Executive Director Pam Watts, CAE. “We were able to leverage their expertise and work together with the NIRSA network to create opportunities to stay active and build community that was taken up by more than 110 schools and more than 14,000 individuals. It showcases the kind of partnership that is underscored by ASAE’s “Stronger by Association” tagline for these awards.”

Riddle & Bloom is an IDEAS AND ACCESS agency that builds solutions for clients to reach and engage the ‘Next Generation’—Millennials and Gen Z, with a deep focus on 14-35-year-olds. These solutions include access points for brands to create meaningful relationships and engage with Millennial and Gen Z audiences. Riddle & Bloom capabilities include campus activities and programs, experiential, consumer insights, digital and social media strategy, activations and e-commerce. For more information, visit: www.riddleandbloom.com.

For more information about ASAE’s Power of A (association) Awards, contact Lauren Precker, CAE. For more information about the 2020 Recreation Movement, please contact Emily Hughes, Director of Corporate Relations.