A wellness champion is a staff member with a commitment and passion to health. They are influential volunteers who play an important role as ambassadors for the Employee Wellness Program. They are messengers and motivators who work to create a healthier school environment to assist in the implementation and coordination of wellness initiatives. They share information, engage friends to participate in wellness programs, and create excitement around leading a healthy lifestyle. They deserve the full credit for the cultural shift toward health, well-being, and self-accountability. Their promotion of the District competitions for healthy eating, physical activity, and weight management reflect exactly what Employee Wellness is about, and provides a fun way to manage health and pursue healthy lifestyles.

Wellness Champions are integral to the success of Employee Wellness. They communicate wellness information, connect employees with wellness resources and help create a healthy culture. The goal is to have a representative at every school or department. With 188 Wellness Champions, that is not a far off goal.

Many champions were encouraged to attend the September Meet & Greet Event following the theme of Jon Gordon’s book The Energy Bus with activities to fuel your life, work and team with positive energy. Over one hundred participants attended and networked with other Champions in their area. The January Mid-Year Meeting featured a fun themed “Pajama Party” kicking it off with relaxing massages followed by healthy thinking training, new information on Wellness Rewards 2014-2015 and team building.

TrainU was utilized to provide Wellness Champion updates, program information, presentations, and resources to assist schools in promoting Healthy Eating, Weight Management, Physical Activity, Stress Management, Wellness Communications, and Other Special Events. Wellness Champions had an option to complete up to five programs to be eligible for a $100 stipend per program upon completion of a program evaluation ($500 for the year).

Wellness Champions have been very successful in generating employee support for workplace wellness programs. They have increased awareness of health risks and motivated employees to make positive health behavior changes. In the 2013-2014 school year, 331 programs were completed with 14,163 participants supported by 188 Wellness Champions.

It takes a dedicated group of individuals to accomplish comprehensive programs that help District employees adopt a healthy lifestyle and improve their quality of life. With each year, great strides are made in improving the health, wellness, and safety of all students, staff, parents, and the community.
The following highlights some of their successful health and wellness program efforts.

*These results represent information from schools that submitted program evaluations during the school year.

Wellness Champions encouraged healthy eating by providing resources for education and planned fun activities such as nutrition challenges. Apple a Day was the most popular District-wide program supporting healthy eating. Other programs tasked with healthy eating included:

Wellness Champions promoted and supported healthy weight management through classes and activities such as weight loss challenges and the most popular District-wide program, Hold it for the Holidays. Other weight management activities included:

Wellness Champions stressed the importance of regular physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle through the District-wide program, WonderFit, as well as many other programs, such as:

Wellness Champions offered support and resources for coping with stress such as relaxation fairs, wellness seminars, tip sheets and more. Some of the most popular stress management programs included:

Wellness Champions communicated through various means of communication, such as emails, flyers, bulletin boards, and announcements. The goal was to promote monthly health topics and encourage participation in District sponsored wellness programs. Top wellness communication programs included:

Wellness Champions integrated employee wellness programs with student wellness programs such as Wellness Fairs, Health Education, Health Screenings, Classroom Challenges, Healthy School Programs and more. The goal was to promote coordinated school health wellness initiatives.

“I enjoy the opportunity to promote wellness to my colleagues and the students. Through the varied program choices, as well as the flexibility to do others; I can help those at my school in their wellness efforts.”

“It is a pleasure to work with educators who share my passion and want to make a positive difference in the lives of others by promoting Health and Wellness!!!”

“You guys are the BEST! The teachers that participated were really happy they were involved in the program. They felt the achieved a well since of being and had a much healthier attitude.”

“I am continually amazed at the growth and dedication of this program and its coordinators. I can't remember seeing any other program expand and be so successful. Thanks for all you do!”

“Thank you for everything you do to support us. I love being a part of the districts wellness program!”

Healthy behaviors are easily influenced by other people around us. Thank you, Wellness Champions, for leading by example through your enthusiastic commitment to wellness. Our success could never be accomplished without your support, encouragement and dedication! THANK YOU!