Thrive Week events at North Island College’s (NIC) Campbell River campus will include meditation, art therapy and food.
After announcing the college’s first Thrive Week earlier in the month, schedules for each of the college’s four campuses’ activities between Feb. 3 and 7 were released late last week.
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Thrive Week began at UBC and according to a NIC press release, has been adopted at campuses across the country as a way to “celebrate community, encourage self-care and promote mental health literacy.”
“The goal of Thrive is to bring students, faculty and staff together to do something fun, healthy and encourage positive physical and mental health,” said Felicity Blaiklock, NIC director, student affairs. “We know this can be a tough time of year, so we wanted to create space for people to get together, meet each other and make connections.”
In Campbell River, students, staff and faculty will start the week with Cookies, Coffee and Kindness on Monday between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. where free coffee, tea, cookies and bars are on the menu after you post a message of kindness or gratitude on the gratitude tower.
Tuesday between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., there will be art therapy taking place in the Student Commons area. Supplies will be on hand so you can “create your way to calm” and “reconnect with your creativity.”
There is free lunchtime yoga and a guided meditation on Wednesday between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. in room C240A.
Thursday you can join NIC Biology Instructor Sandra Milligan on a guided walk through the Beaver Lodge Lands and learn about forest bathing. This group is meeting at 1:15 p.m. in the main foyer.
Finally, on Friday between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria and main foyer, there will be healthy snacks along with their recipes that students can take home for free.
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Throughout the week you’ll be able to leave a message on the Gratitude Tower and access Mindfulness Kits in the library.
In addition to these events, NIC will be raising awareness about its mental health services and supports.
“Mental health challenges can sometimes be like the proverbial frog in boiling water - you don’t know you’re in trouble until it gets bad,” said Blaiklock. “By engaging in conversation and normalizing talking about mental health, we hope students are able to recognize when things are not okay and reach out for help.”
For a full schedule of the Campbell River campus events during Thrive Week, click here.
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