WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — So what would it take to lose a million pounds? In the Hagerstown area, that’s precisely what the community is trying to do.

Through the Go for Bold community initiative, Washington County residents have lost 100,000 pounds collectively. That’s the equivalent of 40 Honda Civics or a jet airliner, for instance.

The county’s health department and Meritus Health have engaged 50 community partners to get people walking, running, swimming, exercising and eating right.

“They [residents] have done this,” Allen Twigg, executive director with Meritus Health, said. “Really through incentivizing their employees as part of a wellness program, knowing that when we lose weight we lower our risk around blood pressure, around diabetes.”

The initiative has already reached 10% of their million pound goal since the summer.

The county has over 6,000 users on weight trackers, according to Danielle Stahl with the Washington County Health Department.

“We have partners who are creating incentives into the community for walkability plans and programs looking into new and creative ways to engage our communities to live a healthier life,” Stahl said.

She said Go for Bold is focused on reaching positive community health metrics.

“We’re going after all these chronic diseases that are very high, prevelent in our county,” Stahl said.

To celebrate the success of Go for Bold, Meritus Health and the county’s health department are welcoming Maryland’s Deputy Secretary for Health to Hagerstown.

“This is something everyone can get involved with,” Twigg said. “There’s no cost.”