SEPTEMBER

During the month of September, there are 3 options to participate in Your Wellness Matters programs.

1. Wellness Challenge

2. Wellness Event

3. Physical Activity Tracking Challenge

 

Wellness Challenge: Reach Your Wellbeing

Challenge yourself with the Reach Your Wellbeing Worksheet (attached).

Remember to submit your completed worksheet by September 5 at https://www.laxymca.org/employee-wellness to be entered in the drawing to win this month's prize.

 

Wellness Event: Dance Sampler Class

September 11th, 12:00-1:00pm

Houser Fitness Studio A
No pressure, no experience needed, just bring your best smile and get ready to move! Look for a calendar invitation soon.

This class is all about fun, laughter, and shaking off stress. Expect giggles, easy-to-follow moves, and a chance to try a little bit of everything. Come dance like nobody’s watching! 

*Make sure you submit a selfie for a chance to win this month's prize. 
 

Prizes for the Wellness Challenge and the Wellness Event:

Anyone who completes and submits documentation at https://www.laxymca.org/employee-wellness for the Wellness Challenge or the Wellness Event by October 5th will be entered into a drawing where two winners will each win a pair of shoes of their choice!

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Physical Activity Tracking Challenge

Track your physical activity minutes during August. If you reach the required goal, submit your minutes at https://www.laxymca.org/employee-wellness by October 5 to be entered in the drawing to earn a meal with a coworker.

Your Wellness Matters Team

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OCTOBER

October's focus is Environmental Wellness! Environmental wellness refers to the state of well-being and harmony between individuals and their physical and social environments. It encompasses a sense of connection to nature, respect for the environment, and active efforts to protect and sustain the planet.
During the month of October, there are 3 options to participate in Your Wellness Matters programs.

1. Wellness Challenge

2. Wellness Event

3. Physical Activity Tracking Challenge

Wellness Challenge: 15 Ways to Save Energy

Challenge yourself with 15 Ways to Save Energy at Home Worksheet (attached).

Remember to submit your completed worksheet by November 5 at https://www.laxymca.org/employee-wellness to be entered in the drawing to win this month's prize.

Wellness Event: 2 walks to go outside and enjoy our Environment

October 1, 11am - 12pm, front lobby at Dahl

October 23, 11am - 12pm, front lobby at Houser 
Move your body and enjoy the outside environment!  Dairyland Power has donated a gift for everyone who participates in the walk.  It's important to take care of the environment so that we can enjoy the environment. Look for an invitation soon.

*Make sure you submit a selfie at https://www.laxymca.org/employee-wellness by November 5 for a chance to win this month's prize. 

Prizes for the Wellness Challenge and the Wellness Event:
Anyone who completes and submits documentation at https://www.laxymca.org/employee-wellness for the Wellness Challenge or the Wellness Event by November 5th will be entered into a drawing where two winners will each win a Cotopaxi Tote Bag.

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Physical Activity Tracking Challenge
Track your physical activity minutes during October. If you reach the required goal, submit your minutes at https://www.laxymca.org/employee-wellness by November 5 to be entered in the drawing to earn a meal with a coworker.

Your Wellness Matters Team

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Check your wellness journey progress here

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What is the Employee Wellness Program

Description

The Y offers a voluntary employee wellness program (Your Wellness Matters) to all full time employees. The mission of this program is to provide a worksite culture and environment that supports making healthy lifestyle choices. Programs are intended to educate, empower, and engage full time employees to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors. All full time employees who voluntarily participate in programming are eligible for rewards and incentives.

Programming

Each month will surround a different area of wellness where a challenge and or event will be offered for full time employees to complete/attend. Full time employees may submit physical activity minutes monthly as well.

Vision

Implement a comprehensive worksite wellness program that educates, empowers, and engages La Crosse Area Family Y full time employees to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Who is eligible?

All full time employees are eligible.

Guidelines

To be eligible to earn up to 16 hours of Personal PTO, participants must log at least 400 minutes of physical activity per month and provide their tracking information by the 5th of the next month AND complete a minimum of 8 monthly challenges or events and submit the required documentation by the 5th of the next month.

All submissions should be turned in at:

www.laxymca.org/employee-wellness

Please Note: We are committed to helping participants achieve their best health. If a participant thinks they might be unable to meet the physical activity goal for a reward or the monthly challenges as they are presented, they might qualify for an opportunity to earn the same reward in a way that is right for them. Please contact Karen Fortin ([email protected] or 608-519-5519) to discuss options further.

Rewards

Those who complete and submit documentation of reaching the physical activity minutes goal each month will be entered in a drawing to win a breakfast/lunch with a coworker of their choosing.

Those who complete and submit documentation for the challenge/ wellness event each month will be entered in a drawing to win a prize (prize revealed each month).

Participants will earn a submission for each physical activity and event/challenge they complete throughout the year. These submissions will be entered into a grand prize drawing that will be announced at the end of 2024.

Your Wellness Matters Team

Please contact any of the following Your Wellness Matters Committee members with questions or concerns:

Karen Fortin

Arianna Lewis

Maddie LaCount

Dana Boler

Anna Stindt

Matt Davids

Natalie Todd

Emma Fox

Julie Siakpere

Jeni Ludwigson

KJ McMillan

Dimensions of Wellness

Physical Wellness: Consists of recognizing the need for physical activity, healthy foods, and sleep, as well as preventing illness and injury or managing chronic health conditions

  • Understand why and how your body works
  • Feel competent at physical activity
  • Become aware of how a lack of sleep, stress, and non-activity affect your body
  • Develop well-balanced and healthy eating habits

Emotional/Mental Wellness: Coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships

  • Develop, establish, and maintain intimate and loving relationships
  • Become more aware of your feelings and accept them as valid indicators of what you are experiencing
  • Develop assertiveness and confrontation skills
  • Develop positive feelings about yourself by creating healthy self-esteem and self-concept

Social Wellness: Developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system

  • Develop the ability to create and maintain close friendships
  • Feel comfortable interacting with diverse individuals and groups
  • Understand and accept those with different sexual orientations, gender identities, races, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status.
  • Work toward becoming a responsible world citizen

Intellectual Wellness: Recognizing one’s creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills

  • Strive to be open to new experiences and ideas in all areas of your life
  • Develop a love for learning and philosophy for “life-long learning”
  • Expand your ability to create, develop, analyze, concentrate, understand
  • Feel competent in intellectual and academic activities

Environmental Wellness: Occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support the well-being

  • Become aware of how your external environment affects you 
  • Redesign your environments to more effectively support and reinforce your needs
  • Be concerned about the future of the local, national, and world ecology and climate
  • Minimize your contribution to the destruction of the outdoor environment

Spiritual Wellness: Expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life, including morals and ethics (Does not need to involve religion)

  • Explore personal values
  • Become aware of how values develop and change from life experiences
  • Search for meaning in life

Occupational Wellness: Gaining personal satisfaction and enrichment from one’s work

  • Understand the relationship between your career choice and other parts of your life
  • Develop effective job-related skills in assertiveness, confrontation, feedback, time management, and active listening
  • Explore your interests, skills, values, and needs and how they relate to your career choice

Financial Wellness: Satisfaction with current and future financial situations

  • Learning how to gain control of your finances so they work for you
  • Understanding how to manage a budget, credit cars, checking and savings accounts, investments, and retirement funds

 

YMCA360

The Your Wellness Matters Committee wants to share with you all a great tool the Y has to offer. If you do not already know, the Y offers a virtual program called YMCA360 through an app or website. This program offers workout classes on demand so you can do them on your own time, anywhere! We encourage you to try these on-demand classes as well as looking into some nutrition and gratitude courses they offer! You can also sign-up for fitness classes at the Y on this program and possibly join challenges to earn rewards through the app/website!

Other Pop-Up Events

We will be offering other opportunities to be involved in other challenges throughout the year such as tournaments and Y employee-only fitness classes. Look for emails including the details as they are scheduled.

Dimensions of Wellness:

Physical Wellness

Consists of recognizing the need for physical activity, healthy foods, and sleep, as well as preventing illness and injury or managing chronic health conditions. 
  • Understand why and how your body works
  • Feel competent at physical activity
  • Become aware of how a lack of sleep, stress, and non-activity affect your body
  • Develop well-balanced and healthy eating habits. 

Emotional/Mental Wellness

coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships
  • Develop establish and maintain intimate and loving relationships
  • become more aware of your feelings and accept them as valid indicators of what you are experiencing
  • develop assertiveness and confrontation skills
  • develop positive feelings about yourself by creating healthy self-esteem and self-concept

Social Wellness

Developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system. 
  • Develop the ability to create and maintain close friendships
  • Feel comfortable interacting with diverse individuals and groups
  • Understand and accept those with different sexual orientations, gender identities, races, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status.
  • Work toward becoming a responsible world citizen. 

Intellectual Wellness

recognizing one’s creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills.
  • strive to be open to new experiences and ideas in all areas of your life
  • Develop a love for learning and philosophy for “life-long learning”
  • Expand your ability to create, develop, analyze, concentrate, understand
  • Feel competent in intellectual and academic activities

Environmental Wellness

occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support the well-being
  • Become aware of how your external environment affects you 
  • Redesign your environments to more effectively support and reinforce your needs
  • Be concerned about the future of the local, national, and world ecology and climate
  • Minimize your contribution to the destruction of the outdoor environment

Spiritual Wellness

expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life, including morals and ethics. (Does not need to involve religion)
  • Explore personal values
  • Become aware of how values develop and change from life experiences
  • Search for meaning in life

Occupational Wellness

gaining personal satisfaction and enrichment from one’s work.
  • Understand the relationship between your career choice and other parts of your life
  • Develop effective job-related skills in assertiveness, confrontation, feedback, time management, and active listening
  • Explore your interests, skills, values, and needs and how they relate to your career choice.

Financial Wellness

satisfaction with current and future financial situations
  • Learning how to gain control of your finances so they work for you
  • Understanding how to manage a budget, credit cars, checking and savings accounts, investments, and retirement funds