Keene State Convenes Wellness Conference

KEENE, N.H. 6/11/02 Keene State College will convene a Wellness, Health and Safety Stakeholders Conference on Thursday, June 27, at the Colleges facility on Wilson Pond.

The conference will bring together more than 30 leaders in area education, healthcare, social services, business, and municipal government to brainstorm about ways to improve wellness, health, and safety in the Monadnock Region. The purpose of the conference is to extend service-learning opportunities for Keene State students and to further collaboration among local health and safety professionals and institutions. Ultimately, the goal of the conference is to identify project-based collaborative opportunities to raise the health and well being of communities in the Monadnock Region.

Keene States Wellness Institute is an emerging initiative to serve the wellness, health and safety needs of KSC students and Monadnock Region residents. The Institute was established last year to advance the integration of the Colleges training and education programs with the services of local organizations. The Institute has offered such programs as nutrition education to Keene elementary students, stress management and cooking courses, and Supermarket Smarts classes, nutritional tours of local supermarkets. All courses are open to the general public though KSCs Continuing Education Office.

The conference will build on the Wellness Institutes programs to promote wellness, health, and safety on and off-campus. The conference is funded in part with a grant from the Monadnock Community Foundation.

A report on conference outcomes and follow-up meetings will be announced in August.