SRU’s Healthfest to ‘Rock on for Wellness’
Slippery Rock University’s annual Healthfest is Oct. 16 at the Aebersold Recreation Center. The event will feature nearly 60 exhibitors from SRU departments and student organizations as well as external health-service providers.
Oct. 11, 2018
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - One of the exhibitors at Slippery Rock University's Oct. 16 Healthfest will be offering vision checks, which is only fitting because organizers are hoping all attendees will open their eyes to the services, resources and information offered by nearly 60 exhibitors at the annual event.
"Healthfest is right here on campus, so all you've got to do is stop by," said Ryan Stack, assistant director for wellness and the Russell Wright Fitness Center. "One piece of information can open your eyes and lead you in the right direction to better health."
Sponsored by SRU's Office of Campus Recreation, the 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. event at the Aebersold Student Recreation Center, is open to the campus and community and includes exhibitors from SRU departments and student organizations as well as external health-service providers.
STACK
The theme for the 2018 Healthfest is "Rock On for Wellness," which plays off of Campus Recreation's "Rock 30" campaign for physical activity. However, the exhibitors go well beyond fitness, offering everything from screenings for blood pressure, body fat and Hepatitis C to flu shots, tobacco cessation and nutrition counseling.
"Healthfest is a great event because it gives the groups on campus a chance to show what they're doing to promote health and wellness," Stack said. "But it's also just a great opportunity for people who don't often hear this information and it gives them a chance to educate themselves and open their minds to what they can do to better themselves and improve their health."
Participating campus groups include various academic departments, including exercise science, public health and physical and health education, as well as the Student Counseling Center and the Student Health Center, which will offer free flu shots to SRU students. Pharmacists from Giant Eagle will offer flu shots to faculty and staff.
Student organizations, like the HOPE Peer Educators and Boost Peer Coaching, as well as fitness-related groups like the Rock Powerlifting Club, will also have booths.
Community exhibitors include Wise Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, Charles Nebel Chiropractic Care Center, Keystone Wellness and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
In conjunction with Healthfest, there will be an "In the Pink: Stride for a Cure" walk for breast cancer awareness. No registration is required but interested participants are encouraged to wear pink and gather at the ARC lobby for a one-mile walk around campus. In the event of inclement weather, the walk will take place on the ARC's indoor track.
For more information about Healthfest, contact Stack at 724.738.2924 or ryan.stack@sru.edu.
MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Zackal | 724.738.4854 | justin.zackal@sru.edu