1. Initiatives
  2. Past
  3. BeWell@VPFA Grant

BeWell@VPFA Grant

The Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration) is committed to creating and promoting a healthy and sustainable community.

The BeWell@VPFA Wellness Grant was a 2023 - 2024 pilot program that provided funding to support small-scale workplace well-being activities and projects. Initiatives supported by the grant program have contributed toward the goal of establishing and nurturing a vibrant, caring, and thoughtful portfolio environment.

 

IT Services: Participation Day

Participation Day was intended to build new workplace relationships through sporting and hobby-based networking events.

Staff with common interests participated in several activities. Participants were asked to respond to activity interest surveys and to pick a slot in which they wished to participate. Organizers scheduled each staff member into three activities to facilitate social networking opportunities existed.

The day included a common picnic lunch to allow everyone to come together, sharing with coworkers their morning experiences and to deepen bonds made through the morning activities. After lunch, staff attended a varsity soccer match, to cheer on the women's Golden Gales.

Activities for the day were:

  • Squash for beginners 
  • Indoor basketball
  • Strength conditioning boot camp
  • Stationary cycling
  • Soccer
  • Ultimate frisbee
  • Kite building and flying
  • Multiple lawn games
  • School spirit activities (posters to support the Queen's Golden Gales soccer team)

Risk and Safety Services: Indigenous Artwork

Risk & Safety Services (RSS) team members, led by Erin Haworth of Campus Security and Emergency Services, applied for the BeWell@VPFA Grant to support the portfolio's efforts of incorporating Indigenous Artwork into shared spaces. 

RSS partnered with Sa-Cinn Native Enterprises Ltd, a company dedicated to the promotion of the First Nations People heritage. Winona, the owner, and her daughter, Adele, provided connections with a variety of artists from across Canada.

After much deliberation, 14 art pieces of various sizes were selected. These pieces are representative of those who share work space within RSS, as well as the campus community the RSS portfolio is dedicated to supporting and safeguarding. 

IT Services: Games Library

The initiative, co-led by Ingrid Gagnon and Stacey Wilson, provides game materials to support social gatherings of employees at their place of work. The game libraries permit individuals or groups of two or more to engage in non-technology related fun activities and connect with their peers in a friendly environment.

The intent is to allow staff to engage in play at work where play has been shown to provide many benefits (see Play by Stuart Brown, MD, 2010). It benefits staff's social health via "increased trust, bonding and social interaction, sense of solidarity, and a decreased sense of hierarchy."

The intent is for the play environment to be spontaneous in nature rather than 'forced fun'. 

IT Services employees who work on campus will continue to benefit from this initiative through increased social connectedness. The games promote inclusiveness but also where needed, some respite and time to reflect. 

This initiative ties into three of the four pillars of the Campus Wellbeing Framework: through play, employees have a chance to strengthen their sense of connection and belonging; activities such as games and puzzles are also beneficial to our personal well-being as it gives us a chance to relax, reduce our stress and gives our brains a well-needed break. It is also our expectation that having games and activities available in the common rooms will make these places more inviting and engaging, and help people connect to one another beyond the scope of their work responsibilities.

Facilities: Custodial Team Recognition

Led by Barb Wowk, the initiative was intended to recognize the important work of the custodial team and to mark National Custodial Day on October 2, 2023. Team members were gifted thank you notes specifically recognizing their work and $5 vouchers to use at campus food locations.

Recognition was one of the overarching outcomes of the Employee Experiences Survey.  

The cards and vouchers were distributed to 150 staff, given directly to each employee by either their Supervisor, Manager, or Assistant Director.

This initiative created opportunities for meaningful in-person interactions to thank custodial team members for their commitment and effort.

Cross Portfolio: Mind Wellness Event

This cross-portfolio initiative was led by Grace Zhu (Internal Audit), Erin Haworth (Campus Security and Emergency Services) and Scott Garrett (Facilities, Campus Services Operating), with additional input from the Office of the VPFA and Environmental Health and Safety.

The team planned a Mind Wellness Event benefiting all portfolio staff. The goal was to bring everyone back together, to socialize, connect with one another, and encourage meaningful collaboration as we continue to promote well-being within our community.

The in-person event on November 20th, 2023 took place at Grant Hall. Event Services provided catering including a wide array of artisanal sandwiches, beverages and desserts. We welcomed Ryan Edwards to the stage, an internationally recognized Mentalist, who wowed the crowd with his incredible ability to read someone’s mind. A few lucky staff also walked away with swag.

Feedback from the event was resoundingly positive and indicated an appetite for future Mind Wellness events.

Facilities: Multi-Purpose Wellness Room

The Facilities Working on Wellness (WOW) Committee (project led by Lisa Crosbie-Larmon and Rose-Marie Pennock) proposed funding a multi-purpose wellness room a 355 King Street West. Research suggests that there are many health benefits to exercising at lunch, which ultimately benefits employers. These benefits include de-stressing and feeling more energized, thus boosting productivity.

Following consultation with onsite staff regarding exercise/wellness initiatives, the opportunity to participate in yoga, low impact stretch/strength sessions, and meditation sessions proved the most popular. It was proposed that the main floor multi-purpose room(s) #136A and 136B at 355 King St. West would be an ideal space to hold such wellness initiatives during the lunch hour. Although the rationale for this proposal varied, the primary reason expressed was that being located at 355 King St. West limits the opportunity to participate in the ARC offerings during the lunch period, given the added commute time.  

The proposal of this project was two-fold.

  1. Inclusivity; To provide the opportunity for participation in yoga, low impact stretch/strength, or meditation sessions for those without the financial means to purchase the required equipment to participate,
  2. Access: To promote ease of participation by providing a limited supply of on-site equipment for use. The proposal included the basic equipment such as yoga mats, blocks, etc.

Given the size of the space, approximately 10 staff can participate in a session and opportunities to participate are open to all Facilities staff and staff who are based at 355 King St. West. 

Facilities: WOW Community Garden

A community garden project was proposed by Facilities CUPE Local 229 membership in an effort to promote the multiple dimensions of personal wellbeing, belonging, social connection, and to assist with potential food insecurity for some staff and members of the Kingston community. The community garden was established on the grounds at 355 King Street West. The Facilities Department and the WOW committee (project led by Rose-Marie Pennock, Xin Li and David Gerrish) supported the grant submission.

Creating the community garden has been a great opportunity for the Facilities team to come together in support of a good cause. Facilities Carpenters, Grounds Crew, Student Interns, and members of the WOW committee were engaged to build the community gardens consisting of nine garden plots plus one accessible garden option to ensure inclusivity. Participants generously donated seeds, flowers, and other plants from their own gardens.  

Staff are invited to use the produce grown for personal consumption and some has been and will continue to be donated to local food reclamation programs dependent upon harvest availability. Neighbours located near the community gardens have enjoyed supporting the program, assisting with tending the gardens, and have also enjoyed the bounty. 

This initiative is aligned with similar programs already in place on Main and West campus and Facilities WOW committee has aligned the program where it has made sense to do so.

The first year was a great success with fresh produce made available to all. The leadership efforts of Rose-Marie Pennock (Facilities in-house gardener extraordinarie), Xin Li, and David Gerrish, along with their passion for gardening and contagious enthusiasm, were paramount to the success of this project. It is also important to give a shout-out to Facilities interns who also made considerable contributions to the maintenance of the gardens. 

BeWell Grant

Building on the success of the BeWell@VPFA Grant program, Human Resources is offering a one-year pilot grant program supporting wellness initiatives for 2024-25. 

The BeWell Grant provides funding to support small-scale workplace well-being activities and projects as we work together to establish and nurture a vibrant, caring, and thoughtful university environment.

BeWell Grant

Thank you to the following organizations for consultation and use of their documents to guide the development of the BeWell@VPFA Wellness Grant Program.