Looking to become healthier? Visit the Library! For the past couple of years, the Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries have hosted Health Services’ Peer Health Teams to provide health information, events, and giveaways for students and other visitors.
There are four Peer Health Teams in total – Healthy Minds, Hot & Spicy, Mission Nutrition, and Party Smart. Each team has from 6-12 students who volunteer about 3-5 hours/week to plan and hold health information events.
Since the teams started appearing in the Library two years ago, they have organized popular information booths and events such as the “Exam Packs” information booth where team members give away healthy snack packs for students before the exam period.
Susy Lam and Sian Tsuei hand out free exam packs to students as part of the Healthy Minds Peer Health Team
One of the teams’ most popular events is the “Take the Stairs” event held several times a year at the Dana Porter Library where team members encourage students to take the stairs instead of the elevators. The latest “Take the Stairs” event was held on Valentine’s Day, and the Peer Health Team celebrated by offering goodie packs containing a chocolate heart, a condom, quick health tips, and this poem:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Please take the stairs,
Your heart will thank you!
Jenna Holz and Laura Ledas encourage students to take the stairs during a "Take the Stairs" event at the Dana Porter Library
The Peer Health Teams are coordinated by the university’s Health Educator Sandra Gibson from Health Services. Although the teams host information booths and events across campus, they have been particularly successful in the Library’s locations. Last year alone, the teams had over 10,000 student interactions and about 2,000 of these were at the DP and DC libraries.
“Our teams love holding events in the Library. Students are really receptive to us here,” Gibson explains. “The teams think this could be because students will do just about anything not to sit down and start studying."
For more information on the Peer Health Teams, contact:
Health Educator, Health Services
Ext. 36358
For information on exhibiting in the Library’s locations, contact:
Communications and Liaison Librarian
Ext. 32446
University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883
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