World Health Day event encourages Algonquin College students to take control of their health

The Algonquin Students’ Association hosted health experts and well-being vendors for World Health Day on April 7 in the Student Commons.

The space brought together information on nutrition, public health programs, sexual health, blood donation and student insurance. Free fresh fruits and vegetables were also available, with the intention of demonstrating how simple and accessible a healthy diet can be meant to make healthy choices feel simple and accessible.

Ilana Goldfarb from the Students’ Association said the intention behind the day was to give students direct access to services that could genuinely support them.

“The event was held to give students information on how they can help their mental health and how they can help their physical health,” Goldfarb said.

When asked what resource or service she thinks students should pay more attention to, Goldfarb pointed to basic physical health, “making sure they’re eating proper fruits, vegetables and low sugar.”

For her, taking care of the body is personal.

“It’s about nourishing your body and being healthy,” she said.

Emilie McKay, representing Pro Physio, explained that the service is part of Lifemark Health Group and operates more than 30 clinics across the Ottawa area.

“We provide physiotherapy, occupational therapy, RMT and chiro,” she said. “We support students, the faculty and even community members in their rehabilitation goals.”

Pro Physio has a location on the Algonquin College campus, which McKay was able to highlight during the World Health Day event.

To give visitors a hands‑on sense of what physiotherapy can address, Pro Physio brought a balance‑game activity.

“It tends to be big among those who are either in competitive sports, so they can develop further with their balance or if they have injuries with neurological conditions, then balance is on the other end of the spectrum and need to improve,” she said.

The same exercise can support people recovering from neurological injuries who need to rebuild stability.

Stopping by the event, Avery Hampton was motivated by an interest in learning more about donating blood or plasma. From there, she explored the rest of the booths. One thing that caught her off guard was the sexual wellness station.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be down here, but good that it’s down here,” she said.

Hampton said the overall experience was positive.

“All of the people from the booths are very welcoming and very insightful,” she said.

One of the main things she took away from the day is the possibility of stem cell donation. The event also reinforced her impression that the college offers students health‑related services and support.

At the Canadian Blood Services booth, Caitlin Lanning outlined their focus on helping students understand how blood and plasma donation work and how to get started through a Canadian Blood Services account.

“We’re promoting the donation and plasma donation as it’s in demand for patients in the hospital and patients in the community,” she said.

Lanning explained that their team walks people through the steps of joining the stem cell registry and provides on‑site cheek swabs, giving the database enough DNA to identify potential matches.

“When people are called in the future, if they do find a match, then they donate blood, and that’s how we get the stem cells,” she said.

Goldfarb said that events like this help keep health‑related supports visible on campus throughout the year by encouraging students “to be aware of all the different services that are available to them.”