What’s Happening in Wellbeing
Be sure to check out Student Wellbeing In The Media too!
You’re Invited: Thanksgiving Meal for All Students
Don't have a meal plan or plans for Thanksgiving? Join our community for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with plenty of sweet goods, delicious side dishes, and oven-roasted delights, including great vegan options!
Thursday, November 27
11am - 3pm or 5pm - 8 pm
Marciano Commons.
You must register to attend by midnight 11/24.
You are welcome to bring a guest who is not a BU student; however, their cost will be $22 per person, payable at the door. If you have a meal plan and guest passes available, you can use those for your guest.
Executive Director of Student Wellbeing, Carrie Landa, notes, "It’s our hope that all BU students who remain in Boston for the Thanksgiving Break will join us at this all-university community meal. This event is a unique and wonderful opportunity to come together, relax around a table with friends, and pause to express gratitude. Plus, Dining Services does such an incredible job with the food - this meal is not to be missed!"
What’s Your Big Idea to Promote Students’ Social Wellbeing?
It all starts with an idea.
Do you have an innovative idea about how to support students' social wellbeing at BU?
In the spirit of Experience Innovation, Boston University School of Hospitality Administration is calling all innovators to submit ideas for the $50k Hospitality Innovation Competition or $20k Student Wellbeing Competition.
The Student Wellbeing Competition focuses on innovative ideas or initiatives that promote the social wellbeing of students at Boston University. The success of these ventures is assessed based on creativity, novelty, reach, and feasibility to implement.
1st prize – $10,000
2nd prize – $6,000
3rd prize – $4,000
Applications open December 5 and are due January 30, 2026. Learn more about deadlines and the application process.
Upcoming Info Sessions: November 6 and November 20. Register here.
The Student Wellbeing Competition has grown each year thanks to partnerships across campus, including funding provided by BU Student Wellbeing, College of Communication, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, School of Hospitality Administration, School of Social Work, and Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.
National BU-Led Study Finds College Student Mental Health Continues to Improve
BU public health researcher Sarah K. Lipson on decrease in students experiencing depression—and what you can do to support your own well-being
Student Wellbeing To Offer Two Hub Cocurriculars in Spring 2026
Student Wellbeing is excited to continue to partner with Undergraduate Affairs and the BU Hub to offer cocurricular experiences to undergraduate students. In Spring '26, Student Wellbeing will offer two Hub Cocurriculars. Registration starts October 31 for both:
Thriving Together
Need to fill a Hub Teamwork/ Collaboration unit? This exciting cocurricular examines what wellbeing looks like in your own life, as well as at BU. Explore wellbeing concepts through teamwork activities that culminate in a proposal to engage your peers. HUB CC 107: Thriving Together meets Wednesdays 2:30-4 pm.
Wellbeing for Leaders
Leaders have a unique role in their organizations and community. It’s critical that they know how to care for themselves as individuals in addition to caring for their organizations. This Hub cocurricular invites students to explore how to manage the demands of being a leader by learning skills and strategies they can use to promote their own wellbeing and simultaneously cultivate a culture of wellness within their organizations. Wellbeing for Leaders satisfies 1 Hub unit in “Teamwork/Collaboration” within the “Intellectual Toolkit” capacity. HUB CC 108: Wellbeing for Leaders meets Tuesdays, 3:30-4:45 pm.
“Check Hunger” to Support the BU Food Pantry – November 2025
Bring shelf stable food items to any BU women's or men's hockey home game in November and be entered to win an 8-person suite to the 2/14/26 men's home game against New Hampshire!
It is estimated that 30-50% of college students experience food insecurity. Last year at BU, we distributed over 18,000 pounds of food to our student community. Let's continue to work together this month to address food insecurity on campus.
We have the unique opportunity to provide assistance to those within our own community. Help BU Student Wellbeing “Check Hunger” by bringing non-perishable food items to any Terriers' home hockey games in November. Donations will be collected in the Agganis Arena lobby, then delivered to the BU Food Pantry, which is open to all BU students.
Bring your items to any of the following games:
- Friday 11/7 BU Men vs Merrimack (7 pm)
- Friday 11/14 BU Women vs BC (7 pm)
- Friday 11/21 BU Women vs Providence at Walter Brown Arena (6 pm)
- Saturday 11/22 BU Men vs Northeastern (7 pm)
Your donation will enter you to win a suite for 8 at the 2/14/26 men’s home game against New Hampshire. Parking and food included!
Learn more about the BU Food Pantry.
Items accepted at the Food Pantry are:
- Canned beans
- Canned soups
- Canned vegetables
- Pasta
- Mac and cheese
- Granola bars
- Oatmeal
- Boxed Cereal
- Dry Beans
- White or brown rice (1-2 pound bags)
- Canned tuna or chicken
- Peanut butter
- Jam/jelly
Thanks to partners BU Women's Hockey, BU Men's Hockey, BU Athletics and the Agganis Arena.
Warm Coat Drive Fall 2025
Have an extra coat that you can donate to a student-in-need? The annual Warm Coat Drive is an opportunity for all members of the BU community to donate gently worn or new coats that will be distributed to BU students in need. Any remaining coats will be donated to Goodwill Industries.
Coat Collection October 10-17.
Collection bin locations:
- BUMC (next to Chequers Café)
- Center for Career Development (6th floor of Yawkey Center for Student Services)
- FitRec Lobby
- George Sherman Union Lobby, next to piano
- GSDM, First Floor near elevators
- One Silber Way
- Questrom Lobby
If you are a student worried about affording a coat this winter and would like to inquire about receiving a free coat, please fill out the Coat Drive Interest Form below.
The Warm Coat Drive is part of a larger effort to ensure students’ most basic needs are met. Explore resources available to support core needs both on campus and in the local community including meals, clothing, and emergency needs.
This drive is a partnership between Center for Career Development, Newbury Center, Student Wellbeing, and Sustainability.
Coat Drive Interest Form
Thank you for your interest in receiving a warm coat this winter. We will email you an invitation to our coat pick up once details are available.
Student Wellbeing Partnering with Innovate@BU to Offer New Wellbeing Innovation Seed Grants
Are you ready to make an impact with funding from Student Wellbeing?
With funding and resources offered by BU Student Wellbeing and Innovate@BU, Wellbeing Innovation Seed Grants provide BU students with the necessary funding to kick-start a project or develop an intervention aimed at overcoming student wellbeing challenges.
The Wellbeing Innovation Seed Grant focuses on innovative ideas or initiatives that promote the holistic wellbeing of students at Boston University (BU). Student Wellbeing uses a framework of seven interconnected dimensions that supports holistic wellbeing, describing it as an active, lifelong process of learning what makes you feel balanced and well in all areas of your life.
Ideas are assessed based on innovation, reach, need and feasibility to implement.
Innovations from all fields of study and experience are welcome. Scalable projects for both BU and other institutions of higher learning are highly encouraged.
Applications available Wednesday, September 17.
Deadline for submissions is Sunday, November 2
Click here for more details such as selection criteria, project requirements and eligibility.
Colors + Connection – Bringing Students Together
Campus Colors & Connection is a one-hour workshop that brings people together with “connecting through colors” activities. We provide you with thought-provoking exercises that stimulate rich conversations and authentic engagement. Participants enjoy and grow their “creative intelligence” while exploring ways that color can express moods and emotions. The workshop promotes self-awareness, nurtures peer-to-peer communication and fosters a sense of belonging and connection.
Campus partners include Student Wellbeing, College of Fine Arts, FY101 and Newbury Center.
Workshops will be offered in a variety of FY101 sections as well as at the Newbury Center and CFA.
Background
To address the growing epidemic of loneliness and social isolation on college campuses across the country, the Foundation for Art & Healing (FAH), through our Campus UnLonely project, offers programs that harness the power of creative expression to engage, inspire, empower, and connect a diverse array of students and other communities within the campus environment.
Your Path to Financial Wellbeing & Independence
A collaboration between the Newbury Center, Student Wellbeing and Kindros, this workshop will focus specifically on habits and actions students can take to support their long term financial goals and wellbeing, such as managing credit scores, loans, financing and budgeting.
Join Stephen Martiros, the founder of Kindros, as we discuss financial literacy and how to build a financial picture that is in alignment with your goals and values.
Did you know all BU students have free access to Kindros, a secure money-management learning platform that provides people a safe place to learn how to make good financial decisions and take control of their financial lives?
Workshops offered:
- Thursday, September 25 | 5-6 pm | Hybrid - Newbury Center and online
- Tuesday, October 14 | 5-6 pm | Hybrid - Newbury Center and online
BU Meetup Returns as GradGather for AY25/26!
Calling all graduate students! Are you looking to meet people from different departments and grow your BU network?
For the past two years, BU Meetup has been connecting graduate students from across the university into small conversation groups. Eric Wellers (LAW’24) and Will Saunders (GRS’24), the founders of BU Meetup, have now created GradGather, a new website to facilitate more and easier connections. GradGather is being launched first at BU, and we want you to be a part of it!
Here’s how it works: after you make an account at https://bu.gradgather.com/student-auth/signup, you will receive invitations to join matching sessions. If you sign up for a matching session, you will be matched into a group of 3-4 graduate students from different departments. Then, the rest is up to you! Schedule a coffee chat, go for a walk, give each other tours of your departments, or anything else you'd like to do.
Each match will feature a unique GroupMe chat and email thread to make coordination easy. Happy gathering!
For more on BU Meetup's history, check out this feature on BU Today.
About the founders: Eric Wellers (LAW '24) and Will Saunders (GRS '24) joined forces with a great idea: to connect graduate students that are interested in meeting peers from other programs on campus. Originally piloted by Eric at LAW, Will brought his tech expertise to the table by creating an application to match graduate students into trios as an opportunity to socialize and foster community. With lots of work and determination, BUMeetUp launched in Fall 2022.