Mindful Campuses, a joint initiative from Mindful Employer and Workplace Strategies for Mental Health that helps to support post-secondary institutions, offers an annual $2000 grant for community programming that supports mental health and wellbeing for students at Canadian Colleges and Universities.
For the last three years, the Faculty of Engineering’s Campus Wellness Team has applied for and received this grant. The allocated funds are used to offset the cost of a cooking class for Faculty of Engineering students. Thanks to the Mindful Campuses grant, the Community Wellness Team has been able to offer this class for the past four terms.
Mediterranean pasta being prepared by Engineering students during the Nov 2023 cooking class,
Along with Mark Meinzinger (a Food Services chef), students in groups of four learn how to cook a healthy, simple, and budget-friendly meal. The Cook with Us class, as well as the Grocery Shopping & Meal Planning on a Budget session lead by Food Services registered nutritionist Nicole Pin, are part of the FoE efforts to address food insecurity amongst our students. Students in these sessions learn budgeting and cost-savings (dining out vs. cooking at home), and they earn hands-on experience by making a healthy meal that they can enjoy (or take home).
In addition to the cooking and nutrition classes, the Community Wellness team will be offering two wellness sessions designed by Workplace Strategies for Mental Health, one for students and one for employees:
Protecting Yourself from Stress: Surviving to Thriving” is a workshop that helps students explore factors that could test resilience and cause stress. It also covers protective strategies that can help reduce the impacts of stress and enhance an individual’s ability to cope.
“How to Recharge (When you Don’t Have Time to Recharge)” is a workshop designed to support employees: the session focuses on micro-breaks and short and effective activities that help promote relaxation, rejuvenation, and reduce the risk of burn-out.
The FoE Wellness Team is thrilled to be able to offer these classes again this Fall. Be sure to register ASAP: spaces are limited and tend to fill quickly!