Learning and fun? Algonquin College offers it all at the Wellness Fair

The Student Commons in E-building held the Wellness Fair on Oct. 9, allowing students to explore the Student Health & Wellness Zone’s Six Pillars of Health through fun and interactive activities.

“We want to make sure students understand that spirituality is a whole range of things,” said Sue-Anne Hess, coordinator of the Spiritual Centre. “It’s not just about the religion you follow but it can be all kinds of things like health and well-being stress relief, yoga, meditation and mindfulness. Spirituality is a whole range of things.”

Upon entering the fair, students could pick up a “wellness passport” from the reception booth. At each booth, after completing their activity, students would get a stamp. After getting all the stamps, students showed their completed passports to the reception booth and could put their names in the main raffle for prizes.

Bianca Guadalupe from the message therapy booth was offering students the chance to enter their raffle for a $40 gift card to the massage therapy services.

“Students can come with any pain they want to know more about, and we’ll do a mini-assessment, or if it’s more like a message, we can do something about that,” Guadalupe said. “We offer an hour massage, if it’s your first time having an appointment, we do 15 of a mini-assessment, then if there’s anything, we’ll tackle it for 45 minutes. After that, students can book again.”

From general health to sexual health, students could spend their time completing fun activities while learning about the resources Algonquin College offers.

Ottawa Public Health had a booth offering students free naloxone kits and information to keep themselves and friends safe.

Close to the Starbucks, Emma Herrington, a registered dietitian, and Melissa Yang, the marketing and conference coordinator of Food and Conference Services, had a booth where they were offering healthy snacks and easy recipes.

“We’re teaching students balanced healthy plates and the different kinds of healthy plates, then we’re doing nutrition trivia, just promoting health,” Herrington said. “Students can ask about food services on campus, where to find options like gluten-free or halal options.”

The Students’ Association Food Cupboard was collecting donations at the event. Anyone at the fair or walking by was able to drop off unopened, packaged and non-perishable food or unopened personal items like soap, toothpaste and floss.

Through the Wellness Fair, the Student Health & Wellness Zone was able to make learning about health and wellbeing more enjoyable for the Algonquin College students.