For Immediate Release

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

More Than Movement Collaborative Launches with July 19 Community Event

New Washtenaw nonprofit reframes the physical activity gap as a question of access, not awareness, and invites funders, community leaders, and partners to an immersive afternoon at The Kensington Hotel.

ANN ARBOR, MI — May 19, 2026 — The More Than Movement Collaborative (MTM) today announced its public launch with From Access to Action, an immersive afternoon event on Sunday, July 19, 2026, from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at The Kensington Hotel in Ann Arbor. The event will bring together community-based organizations, philanthropic funders, public health leaders, and area residents to advance a new model for integrating healthy movement into everyday life in Washtenaw County.

More Than Movement Collaborative operates from a single thesis: in most American communities, the barrier to physical activity is not awareness but access. While public health campaigns have spent decades telling people to move more, the social, economic, and infrastructural conditions that determine whether movement is actually possible, including safe streets, time, transportation, childcare, welcoming spaces, and cultural fit, have changed very little. MTM exists to close that gap by building capacity within trusted local institutions rather than launching another stand-alone program.

"Healthy movement should be a human right, not a privilege. The challenge isn't awareness, most people already know they should move more. The challenge is access, especially in lower socioeconomic status communities. These communities aren't built to make movement part of daily life. More Than Movement exists to change that, alongside the organizations our neighbors already trust."

— Michael Stack, Executive Director, More Than Movement Collaborative

A working afternoon, not a panel

From Access to Action is designed as a strategic activation rather than a traditional fundraiser or speaker series. Attendees will experience four integrated components over three hours: a framing conversation on movement as a health equity issue, a brief and inclusive movement experience designed for all comfort levels (no athletic ability required), facilitated roundtable conversations on embedding movement into existing community services, and structured networking with funders, CBO leaders, and AFS members.

"We're bringing funders, community-based organizations, and public health leaders into one room to do something different. This isn't just a panel and it isn't a gala. It's a working afternoon where we'll experience what accessible movement actually feels like, identify where it already exists in our community, and start mapping what it would take to embed it into the services people use every day."

— Michael Stack

Event details

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