EBRC won the Gold Workplace Wellness Award from the Elgin St Thomas Health Unit!

November 22, 2011

EBRC’s Wellness Committee that promotes a variety of initiatives. Specifically, this year we started Fresh Fridays! Fresh Friday is held the last Friday of each month and provides a healthy break and information on a health topic. We also have a draw with entry through a word search or crossword puzzle related to our topic to add fun. The prize also relates to the health topic. For example, the sun awareness Fresh Friday prize was a basket of sun health items including a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, cooler and ice pack. Fresh Friday also includes a healthy snack using local, seasonal food. We have made vegetable soup, asparagus pizza and held a BBQ with veggie and chicken burgers. Healthy recipes are distributed to all employees.

Speaking of chicken, we borrowed the rubber chickens from the Health Unit and after our BBQ we ran a few games for the staff and tenants of our building. This encouraged us to go outside, be active and provided a mental health break. We held a staff development day at the Arts & Cookery Bank in West Lorne. The fresh spring roll competition was one of the highlights of the day. Staff worked together to prepare a meal using local food supervised by a local chef. Sitting down to a dinner we had worked together to prepare was a great finish to our day!

The Wellness Committee also provided training in lifting. Gender specific awareness posters are posted in the bathrooms. During construction of ICE, showers were installed to encourage active living in the workplace.

Workplace policy was developed and adopted including promotion of professional development opportunities for all staff, encouraging volunteerism, enhanced smoking policy, and healthy food choices within the workplace. We provide 50% healthy snacks in the vending machine and healthy food choices for meetings and catered meals, for example.