Wellness Fair 2011 Today
Free massages, acupuncture, prizes and lots of great info
Feeling stressed out? Having trouble sleeping? Worried about whether you’re eating right? Then head to the Student Health Services annual Wellness Fair today from 3 to 7 p.m. in the George Sherman Union for free massages, acupuncture, and reflexology, as well as useful tips on mental and physical well-being. The event will also feature free food, giveaways, and more than 100 prizes.
Various BU groups and big-name outside vendors will demonstrate different types of wellness and showcase interactive exhibits designed to get students more involved in their own health. Vendors will offer information on managing stress as well as improving safety and nutrition. The fair will also offer free screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure, and depression.
Most young people don’t understand whole-body wellness, says Michelle George, Student Health Services wellness coordinator and advisor to the Student Health Ambassadors, a group of students who serve as educational liaisons between SHS and the student body. “I feel like one of the things with starting a wellness lifestyle is being aware of how many types of wellness there are,” George says.
“Hopefully the event will engage students in a wellness lifestyle, and make them aware that wellness services exist on this campus,” she continues. “The students are linked in to some great services here, and they are lucky that many of them are free.”
For instance, students can find nutrition information through Sargent Choice or the Nutrition and Fitness Center, start a new fitness regiment at the FitRec Center, or get information about safe sex from Student Health Services.
All in all, there will be 55 vendors at the fair—20 from BU—all offering different information and services.
Area businesses, among them City Sports, New Balance, Bella Sante Spa, Charles Street Chiropractic, Bare Bones Yoga, Sleep HealthCenters, and Pirate’s Booty, will give away free samples and provide information about their services.
BU-specific groups at the fair include SHS Behavioral Health, with a Stress-O-Meter to measure students’ stress levels; the Educational Resource Center, with information about sleep health; the Student Health Ambassadors, who will offer a hygiene experiment; and the BU Police Department, demonstrating self-defense and RAD moves (see the entire list here).
The first 1,000 students coming to the fair will get a goodie bag, George says.
Each student who visits at least 10 vendors will be entered in a raffle drawing. Among the prizes: iPod Shuffles, portable DVD players, BU gear, Red Sox gear, gift cards, exercise equipment, a white noise machine, and New Balance shoes.
Student Health Services has also been running a SCVNGR competition to promote the fair. The student who completed both treks in the shortest time will win a free bike this afternoon.
SHS graduate intern Tera Reynolds (SPH’11) helped plan today’s fair and hopes the event helps educate students about the many health resources available not just at BU, but throughout Boston. “We live is a fairly wellness-oriented city, so there are many products and services here that people can take advantage of,” she says. “I have friends who get really stressed with school so they get a massage or acupuncture in the city, which really helps them.”
As a student health ambassador, Hannah Putnam (SAR’12) urges fellow students to attend the fair. “I think one of the best things about the Wellness Fair is that students can really learn important information in a new way,” she says. “The environment at the fair is very upbeat, and there will be plenty of booths that target the specific interests of each student.”
The Wellness Fair is being held today, April 6, from 3 to 7 p.m. in the GSU’s Metcalf Hall, 775 Commonwealth Ave. More information is available here.
Amy Laskowski can be reached at amlaskow@bu.edu.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.