SHAPE's History

SHAPE began with a group of individuals concerned about transportation issues around school sites. Ten Edmonton schools embarked on a pilot project during the 2000-01 school year. The principals involved in the project named this program SHAPE (Safe Healthy Active People Everywhere) as it reflects the key elements of health, safety, and the environment. The foundation of SHAPE is that the school staff, parents, students and community work together to identify concerns and develop solutions while utilizing available resources that link child traffic safety to the Alberta Curriculum.

SHAPE expanded and became a provincial non-profit society in 2001 in order to serve all Albertans. SHAPE conducted its first Guinness World Record Challenge in 2005 and took the world record for the most people walking simultaneously. 79,815 participants walked a kilometer at the same time throughout the province at 321 different locations.