Thursday, April 12, marks the annual spring Health Fair at Waynesburg University. From 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., students can stop into the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse and visit a variety of vendors that will focus on different aspects of each student’s health.
Jennifer Shiring, nurse director of student health services ensures she highlights the importance of the fair and its benefits for those who attend.
“The health fair is held annually and it’s just to educate students on health topics that are relevant to their age,” said Shiring. “We have a lot of vendors there, as well as inside organizations, such as athletic training and others.”
Over 50 booths will be set-up around the new gymnasium inside the fieldhouse featuring everything from campus organizations to local businesses. In addition to the information booths, light refreshments will be available for anyone that stops in.
“We do a nice layout of fresh fruits and vegetables, popcorn and snow cones,” said Shiring. “All of the food will be in the lobby and the vendors will be located in the new gym.”
Also, there will be a few test areas for students to check and learn about their own personal health.
“We’re doing blood sugar testing and blood typing,” said Shiring. “You can learn what your blood type is, and we have things like chiropractors, doctors and pharmacists that will do bone density screenings.”
Prizes which include everything from gift certificates to tickets to new electronics can be won by participating in the games that are held at the fair.
“We try to do some interactive games and we have loads and loads of prizes that we give away,” said Shiring. “Also, we have tickets to different theatre events and things like Laurel Caverns and white-water adventure passes. Different food places donate gift certificates like Scotty’s Pizza. We have a mountain bike this year that was donated and we’ll be giving away. Electronics like headphones and I think we have a few Google Chromes this year. So, we have a lot that we try to give away.”
A few of those prizes listed promote healthy, active living.
Also, there will be a blood drive and bone marrow drive for students to donate or sign up to become a donor.
The blood drive will run from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
“We will have the blood drive and bone marrow drive and they will be located in the old gym,” said Shiring. “The bone marrow drive is called ‘Be the Match’ and the football team is really [who] runs that and does the advertising. They volunteer their time to help with registration and help people through that process and it’s a really easy process. It’s a cheek swab to sign up. And even if you sign up and would match with someone and become a match you aren’t obligated to donate. We had two students who were selected and were a match and one of them did go on to donate.”
When holding events like the health fair, education and learning are always the intended goal for students and community members, according to Shiring.
“[It’s about] learning something about their health, maybe think about what they’re eating and their healthy practices, and what they are doing to push themselves more on that h bealth wellness scale,” said Shiring. “You might be healthy with no problems, but there is always room for improvement, always something to learn.”