Langara Receives Community Champion Award for Employee Wellness Program

(L-R) Langara President & CEO Dr. Lane Trotter, Committee Co-chair Kristen Wilson, Committee Co-chair Melia Goertzen. Photo: Jennifer Oehler

Vancouver, BC – For their innovation, creativity, and commitment to workplace wellness, Langara’s employee Wellness Promotion Committee has received a Community Champion Award from the Canadian Cancer Society (BC & Yukon Division).

In late April, Langara President & CEO Dr. Lane Trotter and Canadian Cancer Society’s Julia Hayos presented the award to Melia Goertzen and Kristen Wilson, the co-chairs of Langara’s Wellness Promotion Committee and the driving force behind the College’s employee wellness programming.

“I nominated Langara for the Community Champion Award because they are extremely creative and innovative in the activities and opportunities they offer to their employees,” says Julia Hayos, WellnessFits Coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society. “They have strong organizational support and draw on campus and community resources and partnerships to provide a cost-effective approach to offering activities. Overall, I’ve been very impressed with Langara’s efforts in the first year of the WellnessFits program, and I’m excited to see how they continue to progress in their workplace wellness efforts.”

In November 2012, Langara joined WellnessFits, a workplace wellness program developed by the Canadian Cancer Society and the provincial government’s HealthyFamilies BC initiative. WellnessFits is a free workplace wellness program that gives BC employers the tools and support needed to create healthy and active workplaces. It offers online tools and information on a range of health topics like healthy eating, physical activity, healthy minds, being tobacco-free, and sun and UV awareness.

Since partnering with WellnessFits, Langara’s Wellness Promotion Committee has hosted three employee wellness initiatives: a physical activity challenge, a healthy minds initiative (“Mind Your Self”), and a healthy eating initiative (“Food for Thought”). Each initiative spanned four to six weeks, and employees were encouraged to participate in various on-campus events and track their progress using the WellnessFits online module.

For more information about Langara’s employee Wellness Promotion Committee, visit www.langara.bc.ca/hr/wellness.

To learn more about the Canadian Cancer Society’s WellnessFits program, visit www.wellnessfits.ca.

About Langara

Located in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada, Langara College provides University, Career, and Continuing Studies education to more than 21,000 students annually. With over 1,700 courses and 130 programs offered, Langara's expansive academic breadth and depth allows students of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages to choose their own educational path.

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