Summer of Goodness: Celebrating Health & Wellness
As a physician-founded company, Vireo Health is dedicated to improving the lives of not only our patients and customers, but also our team members!
Many of our team members’ routines and lives have changed greatly with the events of the past year. The global COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed focus to the importance of mental health in overall wellbeing, but it also closed gyms, shut down events, and made meeting up in fitness groups more difficult.
As part of our commitment to supporting our team members, Vireo Health’s Goodness Group, an employee-engagement council, recently launched the Summer of Goodness, a wellness program for team members. The Summer of Goodness is a way for our team members to engage with and support each other in their wellness journeys, even if they are located on different coasts!
Over the course of three months, the Summer of Goodness includes multiple health and wellness challenges and supporting resources and articles about health, fitness, mindfulness and wellness. While the main challenge is for our team to collectively take 27 million steps (plus a contest for who can take the most individual steps!), other challenges support healthier choices when eating and drinking and making time for practices that support mental health.
Participants can cheer each other on, swap recipes and tips for healthy eating, or suggest books or meditations on the program message board. Regular program communications highlight Vireo Health team members who are passionate about health and wellness, profiling their wellness journeys and the ways they have stayed active and continued to make time for wellness.
Need some inspiration? You can read some of our team member’s health and wellness stories below!
Regina, Project Specialist: “This summer I got a Paddle Board! I love being out on the water because it removes the option to look at a screen. Sometimes I feel like we are living in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (where people spend their entire lives in a cave, only able to see shadows of the outside world projected on a wall), except we’re only able to see the outside world through our screens (phones, computers, TVs). Especially in the summer, I try to limit my screen time outside of work hours. Getting out into nature to paddle, hike, bike, play disc golf, you name it, makes me feel like I’m experiencing life more fully.”
Brendan, Director of Operations: “During the summer, I enjoy bike riding, kiteboarding, and crossfit. My weekdays usually consist of a daily crossfit workout before or after work to stay in shape, and a quick 15-minute meditation to keep my head on straight during the work week. On weekends, I will usually go on a 30- to 40-mile bike ride with friends or head to the beach for a fun kiteboarding session on the Chincotaegue Bay. I love to stay active and moving, and feel a bit lazy if I don’t get out and do something on the weekend!”
Kaitlyn, General Manager in New York, shared her story with us: “I love spending time outdoors, walking, hiking, bike riding, kayaking, and swimming. On weekdays, walking on my treadmill with a good book is part of my daily morning routine, and I love to take evening walks through my neighborhood. On weekends, I particularly enjoy hiking around the Adirondacks with my father. We are both avid birders and amateur photographers.”
