In order to educate students about wellness resources on and off campus, WelLU hosted a Wellness Fair on Thursday, Oct. 17. Lawrence groups and community organizations offered interactive learning opportunities and prizes from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Somerset Room of the Warch Campus Center.
Students were encouraged to visit each table through the incentive of a punch card; once a student had filled their punch card by conversing with a number of organizations, they were entered into a raffle for various prizes, which included a weighted blanket and a Polaroid camera.
Various on-campus groups were advertised as wellness resources at the fair: Wellness Services, the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life, Wellness Community Advisors (CAs), the new Sustainable Menstruation Program on campus, the Student Alliance Against Sexual Harassment and Assault (SAASHA), Pet Therapy and the ilLUstrator.
Wellness Services offered many promotional items as well as miniature donuts at their table. Amidst these offerings was also information about the services offered by Wellness Services, such as counseling, health services and wellness and recreation programs. Free flu shots were also provided at the Wellness Fair — one of the most popular offerings at the event.
The Wellness CAs advertised for their event, Beyond Sex Ed, which occurred on Friday, Oct. 18, in each residence hall. This event aimed to educate students about different aspects of sexual health and provided opportunities to win prizes.
Many off-campus resources were featured at the Wellness Fair: Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs, Evolve (an outpatient mental health clinic specializing in eating disorders), the YMCA, Planned Parenthood, Crunch Fitness, Appleton Sexual Assault Crisis Center, Vida Health Clinic and the Aids Resource Center of Wisconsin.
Harbor House advertised its many programs including its shelter, but they also wanted to make known how many volunteering opportunities were available through their programs. Some of these opportunities include being a committee member, volunteering as a donation assistant or a childcare provider and general cleaning and maintenance.
Photos by Allegra Taylor.
Vida Health Clinic advertised their free and confidential medical services, including STD testing, ultrasounds and pregnancy tests. The Aids Resource Center of Wisconsin also advertised their free services, such as the free HIV rapid test. Many services and programs discussed at the Wellness Fair were free or offered student discounts for Lawrence students.
The Sexual Harassment and Assault Resources and Education (SHARE) program hosted a Community Resource Panel in conjunction with the fair. The panel operated a conversation in the Nathan Marsh Pusey Room in order to educate members of the Lawrence community about the resources available to victims/survivors of sexual violence. It also discussed the process of reporting sexual violence.
The Community Resource Panel consisted of five community resources available to victim/survivors of sexual violence, including Sergeant Adam Nagel, Sensitive Crimes Investigator for the Appleton Police Department; the Assistant District Attorney for Outagamie County; Tracy Plamann, the Community Education Coordinator at Harbor House; the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program Coordinator for ThedaCare; and Cathy Kaye, Lawrence’s current advocate from the Sexual Assault Resource Center.
Both the Wellness Fair and the Community Resource Panel emphasized the importance of making students aware of the services and programs available to them. As a whole, Wellness Services seeks to strengthen a culture of holistic wellbeing by offering these services and opportunities to the Lawrence community.