Whitworth brings in many different health service groups every year from on campus and within the community for the annual Health and Wellness Fair, which took place this year on Feb. 9.

Kristiana Holmes, director of health services, said she was very excited to see the production take off. Whitworth hosted 13 vendors, which is almost double what they had last year.

“They are there to inform, educate and connect with students so that they have a better idea of the resources available to them,” Holmes said.

Some of the groups who were invited included Glanville Chiropractors, Whitworth’s Health and Counseling Center, Todd Sanders from the Scotford Fitness Center, a massage therapist, Pilates Life, SCOPE north police and members of the YMCA.

Debbie Stapleton from Holy Family Hospital was a new face seen at the annual fair. This was the first year she came to talk to students about New Vision, a medical stabilization service provided for those 18 and up. She was there to speak to students about maintaining healthy lifestyles that are drug and alcohol free.

“We just want to be a resource,” Stapleton said. “For those who might not know where to turn to, we just want to help them be aware of the things available for them.”

The point of the fair, Holmes said, is to show the students what the campus and community have to offer them. She said her hope was that students would have made connections with areas of health and wellness that maybe they hadn’t thought of before.

Sophomore Rachel McKay also spent her afternoon trying to inform her fellow students about the opportunities available to them at the Scotford Fitness Center.

While McKay is studying psychology at Whitworth, she also works part-time as a front desk attendant at the Fitness Center. She said she sees how important being healthy and staying in shape is, and how it can really impact the lives of those around her.

“I just like to support students being healthy,” she said.

Along with Sanders, McKay helped get other students involved by timing how many push-ups and sit-ups they could do in under a minute at the fair. They also offered a free body fat analysis for those who wanted to learn their index.

McKay also strongly promoted spring term fitness classes taught by senior Erica Yoder, Scotford’s fitness center manager.

“It’s a good time of the year to warm people up with a little wellness,” Holmes said.

Holmes said she hopes students walked away from the fair with some new and useful information. She said she would love to hear from students if there were things or groups they would like to see at the fair in 2013.

Contact Jennifer Ingram at [email protected].