Healthy Campus: Wellness Committee Promotes Overall Employee Health

Whether it is through promoting exercise, healthy eating, or even ergonomics, UW-Green Bay’s Wellness Committee is devoted to keeping employees healthy.

The committee focuses on physical, occupational, emotional, social, fiscal, environmental, intellectual and nutritional wellness. The next program, “Heart Healthy Living,” is scheduled for Thursday, February 19 from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Alumni A and B of the University Union.

In order to promote these wellness topics, the committee holds several events throughout the year, such as monthly Lunch and Learns and quarterly wellness challenges. They also write a monthly newsletter focusing on the same topic as that month’s Lunch and Learn. Activities vary, and partners are plentiful.

“We had a step in to spring challenge, we’ve done that a couple years now, and that’s where (participants) are able to create teams and track all of their physical activities for the month,” says Kimberly Danielson, chair of the Wellness Committee. “We partner with the American Heart Association, the My Start tool, where it’s easy to put in activities whether it’s vacuuming or cleaning the house or out walking or riding a bike. They’re able to track that and we use that as a friendly competition.”

While the committee’s programming is targeted toward employees, students are welcome to attend as well. The committee will occasionally partner with the Healthy Choices Taskforce, which creates wellness programing aimed at students, or other campus organizations to plan events.

“The 9/11 walk, that was open to everybody,” Danielson said. “We partnered with Vets for Vets Club which is a student organization and so we’re trying to reach out and partner with everybody we can.”

The committee has also promoted wellness off campus, by encouraging employees to join community events.

“We have a corporate team for the Bellin Run. The last few years that’s been really successful and people have really liked that they can sign up through the committee. We’re just trying to find ways to promote what events are out there that people might not be aware of,” Danielson said.

“We’re looking for ways to promote, and to be healthy and active in whatever shape or form that is,” she said, “We just want to provide opportunities for employees to think about how they can make positive changes in their life.”

The committee had its founding in early 2012, when several employees gathered to begin a walking program on campus. They discussed a greater need for wellness promotion on campus. It is now comprised of employees from four areas of campus: Human Resources, the Counseling and Health Center, the Kress Events Center, and a liaison with the A’viands who is a wellness dietician. Committee members hope to add one employee from each of the employee classifications on a rotating basis.
Written by Katelyn Staaben, editorial intern, Marketing and University Communication
Photos submitted.