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When you’re working overtime, shuttling the kids to soccer practice, and prepping for the holiday season all at once, it’s easy for wellness to be pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. And if you’re an employee of a small business, the resources often aren’t available to help you make these small healthy steps a part of your regular routine.
Health Links Colorado, a nonprofit run by experts at the Colorado School of Public Health’s Center for Health, Work and Environment, understands that. The organization provides funding and free advising to small businesses as an initiative to implement wellness programs like bike-to-work incentives and company gardens; it also identifies businesses that are already working to make their workplaces a healthier environment.
Today—Wednesday, November 18—they’re combining both those missions to present #Health2WorkDay, a day of activities to remind commuters how easy it can be to improve their well-being. Head to Union Station any time until 6 p.m. to check out all the free sessions and giveaways:
- At 1 p.m., attend Zumba class taught by Mile High Fitness, whose instructors come onsite to work directly with businesses
- Flu shots from Dispatch Health, a mobile health delivery startup
- Chair massages from the Oxford Club, Spa & Salon
- Fruit given out by FruitRevival, which delivers fresh fruit and vegetables and healthy snacks to workplaces throughout Colorado
- Yogurt from our favorite Aussie-inspired yogurt company, Noosa Yoghurt
- Walk with a Doc featuring Denver Health physician Grace Alfonsi
- More networking from 3 to 6 p.m. at Terminal Bar with diabetes prevention specialists from the YMCA of Metropolitan Denver, the American Diabetes Association, and more
Plus, if you pledge to do something simple for your health today (take a walk, drink more water, even laugh) on Facebook or at the event, you’ll automatically be entered into a drawing for prizes, including a four-hour massage package, a free FruitRevival subscription, and gift cards to Tattered Cover. “We’re trying to think of unconventional ways to be healthy like calling a friend you haven’t talked to in a while,” says Michelle Haan, program manager at Health Links Colorado. “It’s not just about being active and eating healthy for the day, but it’s the emotional part, too, and what you can give back to the community in more of a holistic way.”
Follow editorial assistant Mary Clare Fischer on Twitter at @mc_fischer.