FHR kicks off its Healthy Lifestyles Program with a Health and Wellness Fair in Fall River
Fall River, MA – September 29, 2011 – Fellowship Health Resources, Inc. (FHR) provided staff members and persons served many opportunities to learn new ways of eating healthy, exercising, and managing stress at the Health and Wellness Fair on September 27 at the East Gate Christian Academy.
“The purpose of hosting this fair and any of the other programs that we create is to motivate and educate everyone involved,” said Healthy Lifestyles Program and Rehabilitation and Recovery Group Coordinator Therese Bernier. “I know from my personal experience of having Diabetes that changing a lifestyle can be very hard. It takes a lot of effort and you can always benefit from learning additional ways of staying healthy.”
Program Coordinator Therese Bernier, left, shows participants correct serving sizes at the Diabetes Awareness table. |
“I appreciate the support and efforts that we received from the city of Fall River, as well as the Fall River, New Bedford, and Admin. employees that attended,” said Fall River Regional Director Denise Silvia. “It was great to see so much interaction and the persons served at the fair were so pleased with the entire event.”
The curriculum and activities at the Health and Wellness Fair gave insight to ways of incorporating healthy habits into everyday behavior. “I played the Fit-opoly game with everyone,” said Rita, a person served from Fall River. “It was really fun and it’s nice to get out of the house and learn new ways of being healthy.”
The Community Impact Grant from the United Way of Greater Fall River supports the continuation of this program. Funds supplement the expense of equipment, supplies, and educational materials to make the programs as effective as possible. “Everyone, especially Therese Bernier, was creative, dedicated, and worked hard to make this event possible,” Silvia said.
Mark W., a FHR resident from Fall River, credits the Healthy Lifestyles Program for helping him to quit smoking. “I will be two years smoke-free in November,” he said. “Everyone works as a family, we watch out for each other, and we learn new lifestyle changes we can make.”
Mark W. and Ellen B. show their Wellness raffle prizes. |
In the Wellness raffle held at the end of the day, Mark won a portable CD player and a relaxation disc. “I think it will be nice to have something to play music with, and maybe I’ll go for a walk with it,” he said. “The relaxing music is to relieve stress.”
Between fitness games, healthy snacks, and informational displays, those who attended were very appreciative of the day. “A lot of hard work went into making this fair,” said Ellen B., a FHR Fall River resident. “It was very kind of them to plan this and teach us about health. We all learned a lot.”
For more information about the Healthy Lifestyles Program, contact Therese Bernier at 508-674-8489.