YOUNGSTOWN — Sarah Lowry, an organizer of Walk and Ride the Valley, wants people to think differently about how to move from place to place.

“We want to see people out and active more,” Lowry said.

She said walking is beneficial for physical and mental health and also provides an opportunity to explore an area and interact with businesses that people otherwise might drive by.

Walk and Ride the Valley started as “Walk Youngstown,” a campaign trying to combat the mindset that driving is the best way to get around. That initiative saw 60 signs showing walking directions to local attractions, government buildings and historical sites hung in downtown Youngstown in fall 2019.

At the time, a “Walk Wednesdays” group formed to take weekly, roughly one-mile walks around the city. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a hiccup.

“Last year, Walk Youngstown was kind of interrupted a little bit,” Lowry said. “We decided to use that as an opportunity to kind of think about what’s next.”

Lowry said “there was a desire” to expand from Youngstown and to be more inclusive, thus Walk and Ride the Valley was born, and more daily, weekly and monthly walks were planned.

Wednesday, Lowry and a group of walkers, many wearing pink to celebrate National Women’s Health and Fitness Day, met at the Mocha House Youngstown to walk for about a half-hour.

Among the group was Jessica Valsi of Niles, who said she was walking with the group to relearn the area. A Youngstown State University graduate, Valsi had been living in Columbus for the past eight years, until she recently got a job at Eastern Gateway Community College.

Deb Cunningham of Boardman said while she hasn’t been a regular with Walk and Ride the Valley, she has been walking for at least 30 minutes every day for more than 470 days. She said her cholesterol has gone down and she’s noticed other improvements to her health.

“It’s all just from walking,” Cunningham said.

Shari Harrell, president of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, recently moved from Warren to Youngstown, and can now walk to work.

“I like to walk,” Harrell said Wednesday, adding that the group walk was a good way to get exercise and fresh air and meet new friends and neighbors.

The first meeting of the Walk and Ride the Valley leaders was this summer, Lowry said.

Walk Wednesdays has resumed, weekly leaving at noon from the Mocha House Youngstown, and is expected to continue as the weather gets colder, as long as conditions are safe.

Other walks take place on the North Side of Youngstown and in the Wick Park area, Lowry said. Walk and Ride the Valley also expanded into Austintown with weekly walks at the Austintown Farmers Market, which has ended for the season.

Now, the group is looking at locations to start walking in Warren and hoping to identify more areas to walk and grow their network.

“We’re optimistic that we’ll be able to get people out and thinking about the various benefits of walking,” Lowry said.

For a schedule of upcoming walks, visit Walk and Ride the Valley’s Facebook page.