Top the table and promote wellbeing during #HealthyCampusWeek2024

Save the dates: September 16-20 for #HealthyCampusWeek2024. This year we have something very special to celebrate.

Healthier Campus Initiative ® is turning 10 years old!

80 campuses, 10 years, and 1 healthier future!

We are inviting all colleges and universities to participate in #HealthyCampusWeek2024—no partnership is required.

Check out this video showing some of the exciting activities that have been part of the the Healthier Campus Initiative over the years.

Registration is as easy as providing a point of contact and name of your college/university. Indicate if you’ll also plan to participate in the Largest Physical Activity Challenge. You’ll receive the #HealthyCampusWeek2024 toolkit once you register that will make planning a breeze!

Our Healthier Campus Initiative team—including all 80 campuses, wellbeing partners, corporate sponsors, and the entire college wellbeing community—have a lot to celebrate throughout 2024. So, hold on, and watch the Healthier Campus Initiative for important announcements regarding this milestone, co-hosts, sponsors, and on-campus activations. You won’t want your students to miss out!

️Start your planning today. Here’s the entire schedule for #HealthyCampusWeek2024. We can’t wait to see how creative your students are with the themes.

#HealthyCampusWeek2024

Open and free to all colleges and universities, #HEALTHYCAMPUSWEEK2024 is happening September 16–20 and features the Largest Physical Activity Challenge on Wednesday, September 18. The Largest Physical Activity Challenge is co-hosted by the Healthier Campus Initiative and Swipe Out Hunger, with Columbia Sportswear serving as the sponsor and providing prizes of hats, backpacks, and fanny packs to the winners!

Congratulations to Cheyney University, winner of the 2023 Largest Physical Activity Challenge! Last year, the CU Wellness Warriors engaged in healthy eating, physical activity, and food insecurity awareness.

Is your campus ready to challenge last year’s winner and this year’s participants?

See the schedule and learn how to participate

Physical activity challenges, mental health awareness activities, food bank or food pantry initiatives, and eating fruits and veggies in school colors are all great ways to welcome students back to campus in a mindful way during Healthy Campus Week 2024.

While participating schools are encouraged to be flexible with the dates and themes happening on their campus September 16 through September 20, here is a suggested outline for activities:

Monday, September 16

Share a video or pictures about your campus’s farmers market or sustainability initiatives. Check out these examples from Howard University and from Penn State.

Tuesday, September 17

Raise awareness about food insecurity and what resources are available to members of your campus community to make food security more accessible. Highlight the food pantries or food banks that are available to your students, faculty, or staff.

Here’s Columbia College of South Carolina pantry-free approach to fighting food insecurity:

Here’s Bowie State University FB post from their Nutrition Lounge (food pantry):

Wednesday, September 18

Host a physical activity challenge and enter your initiative into the Largest Physical Activity Challenge contest for 2024. Check out the official rules for entering and invite your students to participate for their chance to win hat, backpack, fanny pack prizes. Be sure to tag our partners in the photos and videos you share on social media: @healthiercampus, @swipeouthunger, and @columbia1938.

Thursday, September 19

Student success hinges on a student’s ability to implement healthy practices, coping mechanisms, and self-care in times of need. Host an activity or initiative dedicated to promoting mindfulness or mental health either on your campus or virtually.

Check out these videos from Purdue University about their mindfulness room and from Kent State University about their relaxation pod.

Friday, September 20

Share photos of students and staff members eating fruits and vegetables while wearing school, sorority, or fraternity colors.

Get creative and plan as many or as few activities as you’d like! Remember to tag our partners in the photos and videos you share on social media: @healthiercampus, @swipeouthunger, and @columbia1938.

Why your campus should participate

Colleges and universities are doing an exceptional job at supporting overall student wellbeing. However, there is still important work that needs to be done:

• 33% of college students reported eating somewhat more since the pandemic and 52% have engaged in low physical activity, according to a recent article in Nutrition and Health
• 44% of students reported symptoms of depression and 15% of students said they were considering suicide, according to a recent NEA Today article
• 56% of first-generation students identified as food insecure, according to the Report: Hunger On Campus

Healthy Campus Week gives students, faculty, and staff a fun platform to continue to drive home the message that everyone on their campus is committed to wellbeing and student success; it’s a great way to engage students with fun activities while also educating them about wellbeing.

Healthy Campus Week 2024 partners

Healthier Campus Initiative has continued its commitment to college wellbeing with a particular focus on identifying resources necessary to addressing health disparities. Some members may remember that, on behalf of the Healthier Campus Initiative, I presented with Dr. Daniel Hatfield at the 2019 NIRSA Annual Conference in Boston and exhibited at the NIRSA 2024 Campus Rec Expo in Phoenix. Dr. Hatfield is an applied community and behavioral interventionist working with ChildObesity180 at Tufts University. Part of our evaluation work was to determine what physical activity resources are needed to support the needs of a diverse student body. Healthy Campus Week 2024 is an initiative to further those efforts.

Also, to make inroads in addressing equity, Swipe Out Hunger is partnering with Healthier Campus Initiative to support students facing hardship by focusing on food insecurity by co-hosting #HEALTHYCAMPUSWEEK2024.

Register for Largest Physical Activity Challenge or any other #HealthyCampusWeek2024 activities today for FREE!