UW to Host World Health Day Activities April 7

The University of Wyoming will host a variety of events and activities to recognize World Health Day Friday, April 7. This year’s theme is “Depression: Let’s Talk.”

Depression is a common mental health disorder and an important public health issue. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leading a physically active lifestyle is an effective prevention strategy for depression.

To help raise awareness of depression and its relationship to physical activity, multiple campus groups have planned activities open to members of the UW community.

The UW chapter of Exercise is Medicine-On Campus (EIM-OC) will host “Let’s Walk and Talk,” a 15-hour walk with associated activities. The walk will take place from 6:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. on the third-floor track in the Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center. The event is free to UW students, faculty and staff members.

Participants can register individually or as a team to walk for one hour or more. Team members can choose to walk together for an hour or more, or assign a team member to walk each hour. For registration information, go to www.uwyo.edu/rec/wellness-center/exercise-is-medicine/world-health-day.html.

Prizes will be drawn every hour during the walk. Also, every hour, a new activity will be offered for those not walking. Activities, located throughout Half Acre, will include swing dancing, water workouts, a dodgeball tournament, glow bowling and relay races.

Additionally, Pi Kappa Alpha’s Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life philanthropy event will take place from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. A $5 donation is requested for a half hour of cycling.

“Let’s Walk and Talk” is the inaugural event of EIM-OC at UW, which received official designation as a chapter this month. EIM-OC is a national initiative coordinated by the American College of Sports Medicine. It aims to engage, inform and connect students, faculty and staff members around the promotion of physical activity to improve the health and well-being of the campus community.

Other sponsors of “Let’s Walk and Talk” are Campus Recreation, the Department of Athletics, the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, the Division of Kinesiology and Health, EIM-OC recognized student organization, Phi Epsilon Kappa, the School of Nursing, Student Health Service, the University Counseling Center and the Wellness Center.

For more information about EIM-OC, visit www.uwyo.edu/rec/wellness-center/exercise-is-medicine/index.html.

Additionally, 7220 Entertainment will team up with Campus Recreation and the Wellness Center to host “Life’s a Beach” at 10 p.m. in Half Acre. The event is free and open to all UW students.

Activities will include open swim, beach-themed games and crafts, and an archery battle. The night also includes a screening of Disney’s “Lilo and Stitch.” Free food will be available.

The Late Night Events Committee, which organized “Life’s a Beach,” meets Wednesdays at 2 p.m. in the Campus Activities Center (CAC), located in Room 012 of the Wyoming Union. For information about any of the 7220 Entertainment committees, visit www.uwyo.edu/union/cac/7220-entertainment/how-to-join.html.

For more information about 7220 Entertainment events, visit www.uwyo.edu/union/cac/7220-entertainment/, like the Wyoming Union on Facebook, or follow the CAC on Twitter and Instagram @UWYOCAC.