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Special Programs

Special Programs

Special Programs are offered as special incentives to get everyone out and active. When you sign up for a Special Program, you will receive a book, much like an event or distance book, in which you record the qualifying events. Use the links below to get all the specific information for each program.

If you know of a Special Program that should be listed, please email the webmaster here. Thanks.
 
Sacramento Walking Sticks Programs
NameAward/BookDescription
Sticks Walk Stick's Walks Sticks Walk Stick's Walks book This program is for Sacramento Walking Sticks Members Only!
Cost: $0 for members who walk for credit. Participate for credit in 10 Sacramento Walking Sticks events and you will receive a "Stick's Buck" (a $4 coupon good for paying credit for any Sacramento Walking Sticks event). Get yours at our next event or Membership Meeting.
Runs indefinitely.

You're not a member and want in on the fun? Print and complete the Membership Application form from our Membership page.
Want to start walking for credit? Go to our Incentive Program page.
Doggie Do Walks

Email: Request Pin and Book
Doggie Do book This program is for Sacramento Walking Sticks Members Only!
Cost: $0 for members who walk for credit. Track your doggie's walks. There is space for 30 walks. Use the email link to the left to request your doggie's book and pin. Be sure to let us know what his/her name is so we can get the pin right!
Runs indefinitely.

You're not a member and want in on the fun? Print and complete the Membership Application form from our Membership page.
Want to start walking for credit? Go to our Incentive Program page.

 

Other Club Programs
LinkAwardDescription
Birds & Beasts Birds & Beasts Award This challenge requires you to walk in a town or by a named geographical site on the walk route that contains the name of a bird or a beast (insects and fish also count!). Twenty-four (24) events required. Examples of cities would be Troutdale, OR; Eagle Point, OR; Swansboro, NC; Beavercreek, OH; Lone Wolf, OK. Examples of named geographic sites are Donkey Creek Park (Gig Harbor, WA), Blackbird Island (Leavenworth, WA), Iron Horse Trail (North Bend, WA), Eagle Creek Park (Indianapolis, IN) Named sites include lakes, parks, ponds, mountains, rivers, etc. If an event passes by two qualifying geographical sites, you may imprint the stamp twice in the book (once for each site) if you walk the event twice. For example, the Cannon Beach year round event passes by Whale Park and Elk Park. So you could walk Cannon Beach event twice and stamp your Birds and Beasts book twice, once for each qualifying location. To participate in this challenge, obtain a record book by sending a check for $10 payable to the Columbia River Volkssport Club at this address: Columbia River Volkssport Club, Attn: Birds & Beasts Challenge, 11410 SE 90th Ave # 1511, Happy Valley, OR 97086-4604. For questions or more information contact Ed Hainline @ 360-921-1909 or opahainline49@gmail.com Only 200 books will be sold.
Runs indefinitely
University Walkin' University Walkin' Award
  1. Purchase books for $10.00 by sending this completed application and payment to the address below. Please print legibly. Please make checks payable to: CC Beach Boardwalkers
  2. You must walk for Volksmarch credit and pay the appropriate fee.
  3. You can do any walk (YRE or Traditional) sanctioned by any club in the AVA Pacific Region, but the walk route must set foot on any college campus that offers a four-year degree. Community Colleges that offer a four-year degree DO qualify.
  4. An event may only be stamped in your book once per calendar year.
  5. Graduation Achievement Levels:
    • Magna Cum Laude - With High Honors: Any 15 qualifying walks
    • Summa Cum Laude - With Highest Honors: Any 15 qualifying walks, PLUS 1 Qualifying Walk in each state in the Pacific Region:California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii
  6. Program Award: Personalized Diploma and Metal bookmark with Tassel
  7. Book sales end on December 31, 2024. Redeem book by December 31, 2025.
  8. Note: This is not a national AVA Special Program. Submit your applications by mail to: Ginger Fredriks Attn: Central Coast Beach Boardwalkers 847 Blake Street, Santa Maria, CA 93455-4956, Phone: (805)714-1552, email: tyandginger@gmail.com
Book sales end on 12/31/2024

 

IVV Americas Programs
LinkAwardDescription
Walk IVV Americas Walk IVV Americas Awards Each program book contains space for an IVV stamp from twenty (20) IVV events. Any sanctioned IVV event held anywhere in North, Central or South America, the Caribbean or South Pacific can be entered in this book. Complete your book and return it by postal mail to receive the Walk IVV-Americas patch and certificate.
Runs indefinitely.

 

AVA requires that sponsoring clubs honor returned special program books for one year after the book sales have ended! Some clubs honor returned books for even a longer period. Please contact the POC or the sponsoring club for information on how they will handle returned books.

 

American Volkssport Association Programs
LinkAwardDescription
50 States/51 Capitols 50 States/51 Capitols Award Walk our land and achieve the goal of walking in each state and/or each state capital. Special record books now available to chart your progress towards this goal.
Runs indefinitely.
Walking America, A to Z Walking America A to Z Award Walk 26 cities - A to Z. For example walk in Albany for A, Zanesville for Z, etc. The program will continue indefinitely as long as there is interest. Mail payment of $8 to purchase an event book. Once you have completed the event book you qualify to receive a beautiful patch. Note: X is a wildcard and can be a walk at any event that is not already marked for the program. Xenia, OH is still an option. Make a copy of your book prior to mailing the original to AVA Headquarters, Attn: A-Z Program, 1001 Pat Booker Road, Suite 101, Universal City, TX 78148-4147. Direct questions to karen@ava.org
Runs indefinitely.
Email: Appalachian Trail Appalachian Trail Award The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is the famous hiking trail in the eastern United States from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. The trail is roughly 3,500 km long and goes through 14 States. Walkers are required to hike/walk a section of the trail in each state. A qualifying AVA walk is one that goes on the AT or a blue-blazed trail for at least 4 km. An AVA walk will count for only one state; the sponsoring club will determine which one. Complete the 14 required events; Traditional, Seasonal, or YRE as indicated in the booklet. You must pay for each event. Each AVA stamp can only appear once in the book. Use of the On Line Start Box is approved. Due to the unique nature of this program, participants have space in the program book to add a picture, notes, and other local stamps such as the Park or AT Passport stamp. Book cost is $10. The patch is 4" x 6". Checks are payable to AVA National Headquarters, send to POC Susan Medlin, 12527 Fern Creek, San Antonio, Texas, 78253. Make checks payable to AVA. Please note on the check it is for "The Appalachian Trail SP". Submit completed books to the same address. The POC can be contacted at (210) 325-3523 or email sueammed@aol.com
Book sales end on 12/31/2028
Email: Walk With America's Veterans Walk With America's Veterans Award The goal of this special program is to walk for fitness while discovering the many ways our country's veterans are honored for their military service. "Collect" 15 different qualifiers in the logbooks for 6 different awards which are military "challenge" coins that honor the six military services. ONE qualifier is collected with each AVA: America's Walking Club stamp. When in doubt about a qualifier, post a question with a picture in the new Facebook group created to administer and discuss this special program, or ask the POC below. All qualifiers must be for military service from 1890 to the present, nothing earlier (Revolutionary or Civil War) will count. Each "entry" in the logbook is an AVA-stamp PLUS the name/ picture/ description of the qualifier and location. When using a TGW or GW stamp, the six digit event sanction number is also required. Qualifiers can only be used once in a book or in a year, whichever comes first. (A new year on the AVA stamp allows a repeat of the qualifier in the same book.) Each qualifier is:
  • An individual fixed memorial, identifiable on any civic map.
  • A local display program that honors veterans (all similar and related banners, for example, are ONE qualifier as a single "program").
  • A building that is the location of any veterans' organization, or any government body that supports veterans.
  • A memorial to victims of 9/11 attacks that identifies the Pentagon by name, or a veteran who was killed on that day.
  • A road marker giving "Blue Star" or other designation to honor a GROUP of veterans, or a park or space that honors veterans. (NOT individuals unless the "memorial" name is for a veteran who is being honored for military service --usually KIA-- not just a politician or other notable who was a veteran.)
  • Individual grave markers or headstones for veterans do not qualify.
Order books for $12 each with check made out to "US FreedomWalk Festival Club" and mail to: Veteran's Walking Program, c/o Volksmarching Club, PO Box 2422, Woodbridge, Virginia 22195. POC: Tim Miner, Phone 703-583-2916, Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/421653078810337
Book sales end on 12/31/2027
Email: A-MAZE-ing Labyrinths A-MAZE-ing Labyrinths Award Starts 01/01/2024 A-MAZE-ING LABYRINTHS is a play on words: labyrinths are not mazes. Labyrinths are unicursal, meaning one walks in and out on the same path. A labyrinth is an ancient symbol of wholeness. The meditative properties of walking a labyrinth may help one to self-reflect, offer quieting of the mind & spirit, enhance creativity and reduce stress. Labyrinths are indeed a-maze-ing! This special program offers opportunities for meditative moments by walking labyrinths. An event must go by a labyrinth (or a maze) to qualify. Complete 14 qualifying events to receive an embroidered patch of a classic unicursal labyrinth. A qualifying stamp shall only be used once per year per qualifier but may be repeated in a different year. If an event has more than one labyrinth on the event route, the stamp may be used again, if paid for and walked a separate time for each qualifier. For trail planning, labyrinths may be found on the following labyrinth locator website. However, qualifiers are not required to be listed on this locator and not all labyrinths on this locator are found on AVA event routes. https://labyrinthlocator.com/locate-a-labyrinth. For general information on labyrinths these websites are a good start: https://labyrinthsociety.org/ and https://www.verywellfit.com/walking-the-labyrinth-3435825 There are also several YouTube videos on labyrinth walking. This special program is hosted by the Liberty Bell Wanderers. The books will become available in April, 2023. Please print and complete this request form and mail it with a check for $12 payable to Liberty Bell Wanders, c/o Betty Green, 320 Melbourne Way, Souderton, PA 18964. Please include your mailing address and email address with your request. For more information, contact Betty at 845-774-5335.
Book sales end on 12/31/2026
Sorry, no email available. Lighthouses II Award Beacons from coast to coast, lighthouses are linked historically to the development of maritime expertise and used to warn of dangerous conditions so as to secure safe passage. The US Lighthouse Society has listed under the J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Catalog page after page of descriptions taken from the National Park Service Inventory. With approximately 700 lighthouses in the United States the Qualifier must include any sanctioned IVV event (traditional, seasonal or YRE) that passes or is in view of a lighthouse. One stamp per event per year. IVV participants outside of the United States are welcome to register and participate while logging lighthouses along any IVV event. Cost of book is $12 USD. Complete 12 walks to receive a patch featuring a lighthouse and also a completion certificate. Make checks payable to the Baltimore Walking Club. Books can be ordered from POC: Sue Capp, 100 Grace Manor Drive, Havre de Grace MD 21078. Phone - (717) 968-6611
Book sales end on 12/31/2025
Email: Par For The Course Par For The Course Award Fitness for all ages is a core value of America's Walking Club and its programs. Family is an important part of AVA's future. During this special program, participants will be collecting IVV event stamps (each event stamp may only be used once per year) for event trails that go past outdoor physical activities including but not limited to: exercise stations (par course/stations), golf (frisbee and miniature too), playgrounds, baseball, basketball, soccer, bocce ball, racquetball sports, volleyball, hop scotch and the list goes on. Examples of non qualifiers are skateboard parks, bike parks, treasure hunting and geocaching. Participants are encouraged to find their inner child and "play on the path*" with family and friends. The special program is hosted by the First State Webfooters of Delaware. There will be 3 levels of awards, Bronze, Silver and Gold magnets. You must complete one book per award. To purchase a book please make out a check for $12 (per book) payable to the "First State Webfooters". Mail your request and check to: First State Webfooters, c/o Karen Kaufman, P.O. Box 2041, Dover AFB, DE 19902-5510.
Book sales end on 12/31/2025
Email: Rails To Trails Rails To Trails Award Any sanctioned YRE, seasonal, or traditional event that walks/bikes on a portion of an official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy identified trail (which can be found at https://www.traillink.com/trailsearch/ ) qualifies. One stamp per event per year except for "Guided Trail" events which use the same stamp - in this case the sanction number identifies a unique event. Special Program Booklet contains room for 16 stamps. To purchase a Special Program Booklet, send check for $12 to Colorado Springs Walking Club; 3524 N. Cascade Ave, Lot #58; Colorado Springs, CO 80907. You may mail your completed book to Sherry Sayers, 3524 N. Cascade Ave., #58, Colorado Springs, CO 80907, or scan image of your completed book and email it to cswc@avaclubs.org. A 3"x4" award patch similar to the one pictured here will then be mailed to you. POC: Sherry Sayers, 719-640-6745,
Book sales end on 12/31/2025
Email: Town Halls/City Halls x Award Complete 15 AVA sanctioned walks that include a town/city hall building must be marked as such or have a plaque as a historic site of one. A hall may only be used once, even if multiple walks go by it. The patch (image soon to be added) depicts the Ashland town hall and the Fredericksburg city hall, both in Virginia. Cost of the program is $10. Order books from Peninsula Pathfinders, 302 Queens Crescent, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Make checks payable to Peninsula Pathfinders POC: Sandy Croushore, (757) 532-3468,
Book sales end on 12/31/2024
Email: Border Crossings Border Crossings Award This program includes a Passport as well as a patch. The participant must physically cross the border from one state to another while on a volkssport event. Walking, swimming, biking and cross-country ski events all count. Borders between counties do not count unless they are in different states. International borders will also count as long as they are part of an IVV event. This program covers a 10 year period, which is conducive to a regular US Passport. The objective is to encourage volksmarchers to have fun, finding those unique trails that have border crossings at State Lines, Canadian Provinces, and international borders. Every state has a border with another state or country with the only exception being Hawaii. The program will encourage clubs in different states to work together in setting up a border crossing event. This program requires you to purchase a passport booklet with more to do than just stamp the book. You will be asked to submit a photo of your border crossing and thus make it a personal mini photo album or you can keep notes to make it a mini journal of your adventures. Some may want to do the same border crossing on 15 different days. This will be allowed but make it fun by dressing up in different clothes, wear a different hat, carry a stuffed animal, toy, etc.; in each photo. Qualifier for 15 sanctioned events. Cost of book (passport) $10. Make check payable to Michigan Pathfinders and mail to: Don Vartanian, 6330 Woods Edge N Drive, #2-B, Indianapolis, IN 46250-3530. Patch: 3" x 4". Sponsored by the Michigan Pathfinders, email donvart@yahoo.com phone 317.842.1072.
Book sales end on 12/31/2023
Email: Airports Airports Award The program includes major Metropolitan and International Airports, smaller Regional Airports, Small Regional Airfields, and even Military Airfields if the walk criterion is met, but Heliports or Helipads do not count. The qualifier is meant to define that the walk must be near enough to see airport operations., The walk needs to be along a roadway or pathway adjacent to, abutting, or such similar terms to the Airport property line. Cost of book is $10. Qualifier is 12 different AVA sanctioned events (Same walk/different year = different walk event.) Patch is 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" multicolored embroidered patch. Make checks payable to Seneca Sugar Loafers, P.O. Box 3716, Gaithersburg, MD 20885-3716, phone: 301-540-0466.
Book sales end on 12/31/2022
Email: Mayflower 400th Anniversary Walk Mayflower Award This program ties into Plymouth, MA, with its iconic Mayflower, site of a large 400th Anniversary in 2020, with events leading up to it and celebrated throughout the country. It also ties into the pilgrim story and Native Americans. Qualifiers may include an Indian Museum or statue (any tribe) on route, a full list of surnames of Mayflower Passengers, will be sent out with the booklet. Examples include: Mayflower, Cape Cod, Thanksgiving (any walk done on that day), Surnames: Brewster, Rogers and many more. Walkers are encouraged to walk in Plymouth or by a Mayflower Hotel, or street, monument or sign with some connection will qualify. Passing a Mayflower moving truck or a Plymouth car do not qualify but a building with Mayflower or Plymouth name on it will qualify.Cost of book is $10. Qualifier of 12 sanctioned events(one time per event per year). Patch is 4 X 4" embroidered of the Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor, MA. Make checks payable to Twin State Volkssport Asso. Order books from Carolyn Adams, 23 Terry Hill Rd, South Ryegate VT 05069, phone: 802-757-2500.
Book sales end on 12/31/2022
Snail Mail:
Maumee Valley Volkssporters
Vivian Lijewski
4710 Glendale Ave., Suite 201
Toledo, OH 43614
Rockin' Around The Clock Award This program is intended to challenge participants to find public clocks while out enjoying volkssporting events. A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Astronomical clocks that show astronomical information, as well as the time, can be so classified. Town clocks or Public clocks are intended to be seen and of use by the general public in town squares, plazas, city halls, courthouses, train and bus stations, parks and more. Qualifiers are 24 different AVA sanctioned events that include a public clock, clock & repair shop (if clocks are the primary business) or clock museum. Only one use of the IVV Stamp is allowed for each qualifier per year. Non qualifiers: garden sundials, no billboard advertising sign count, clocks in other museums other than a clock museum, clocks inside buildings or seen through windows do NOT qualify unless the clock or clocks are the primary focus of the building or the clock has particular special or historical significance. Make note of the style of clock and/or where the clock is located. EX: St Peter's Church, tower or Bryan Town Square or Daily News Building, etc. Cost of book is $10. Patch is 3 X 4" patch depicting a variety of public clocks. Make checks to Maumee Valley Volkssporters. Order the books from POC: Vivian Lijewski, 4710 Glendale Ave. Suite 201, Toledo OH 43614. Phone - 419-385-3904
Book sales end on 12/31/2022
Email: Carousels Across America Carousels Across America Award Honor a much loved form of entertainment in the United States. Each state has at least one carousel. Any sanctioned YRE or Traditional event passing a carousel in the U.S. qualifies. Entries per event are unlimited, but a start card must be completed and carried for each. This program is not retroactive. The patch is an embroidered, multi-colored 4"X2 1/4" depicting three colorful carousel horses of varying sizes. Qualifier is the completion of 15 sanctioned events passing a carousel. Cost of books is $10. Order your book Albany Fitwalkers Volkssporting Club, PO Box 1218, Albany, OR 97321. POC: Don Reed Email: donreed1946@yahoo.com or 541-974-5780.
Book sales end on 12/31/2021
Email: Little Free Libraries Little Free Libraries Award No retroactive entries will be accepted. Little Free Libraries can be found throughout the US, Canada and many countries around the world. Complete 20 AVA sanctioned walks that include a Registered Little Free Library. Registered LFL's have an official charter sign and charter number which will be the qualifier. Unregistered LFL's will not count and only one LFL may be used per walk even if there is more than one on the route. One entry per calendar year is permitted for YRE and Seasonal events. Patch is a 4"X4" multi-color picturing three children enjoying books while sitting beneath a Little Free Library. Cost of books is $10. Qualifier for 20 sanctioned events. Order your book from Deb Gaskins, PO Box 110, Des Moines, IA 50301-0110. Make check payable to Greater Des Moines Volkssport Association (GDMVA). Email gaskins.deb@gmail.com phone 515-238-2486.
Book sales end on 12/31/2021
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  Page last updated: 09-January-2024