Tuesday, April 11, 2017 by Mary Lynne Bartlett
Spreading kindness, one mandala at a time. The B Mindful Challenge is back at the Library! After receiving positive feedback from our Library Ambassador project last term, we are continuing our project to provide students a chance to flex their brain with colour. Students will be able to colour mandala cards and write positive messages for the patients at Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
The project has evolved so much from last term. We have encouraged participation from all UWaterloo libraries, as well as UW Health Services and Police Services. The large mandala posters were not included this term, which has allowed a greater focus on colouring the cards. This term we put together a communication and advertising plan and promoted the project through social media and Feds clubs. Last term as the project grew, it became a bit of a challenge to balance our Library Ambassador project with our class projects and exams, but we used our time management skills and pulled it off. The impact of the project on students and patients was definitely worth it!
The B Mindful Challenge promoted student engagement and self-care. Both students and staff produced beautiful mandala cards and filled them with positive messages. We were able to show support for the patients at Cambridge Memorial Hospital by hand delivering the cards to them on behalf of the UWaterloo community. Through this project, we were also able to collaborate with the Dr. Bird Project and UW Health Services to spread awareness about the importance of mindfulness. The project provided students an opportunity to relax by colouring, and gave them a chance to brighten someone else’s day.
We also had the privilege of presenting at the OHD Staff Conference, along with Library Ambassador Lead Mary Lynne Bartlett, Library Outreach Chair Laurie Strome, and Dr. Mitch Abrams from the Dr.Bird Project. We chose to continue this project because it is a simple and fun way to promote mental and physical well being for UWaterloo students during the stressful exam time. The project also promotes a feeling of connection between students, staff, the Library, and the larger Waterloo community. Some of the skills we developed through presenting at the conference were public speaking, effective oral and written communication, problem resolution, leadership, and collaboration. It was an excellent experience to be able to present to such a large audience. We encouraged all of the attendees to colour a mandala card, and it was amazing to see their excitement for our project and the impact it had on those in attendance. Staff members provided excellent feedback, as well as suggestions for how to expand the project to other departments. Since the project began last Friday, several staff members have requested mandala cards to bring back to their own departments. UW Health Services and Police Services have also joined our project this term.
We are excited to move forward with our project this term. The project will run until April 21st, so please take a moment to spread some kindness by colouring a mandala card and write a positive message inside. You might just make someone’s day.
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