Dedicated to improving the quality of life for people who live in the seven-county Metro Denver area, The Denver Foundation also realizes the importance of health and wellness within their own organization. This community foundation uses their wellness program as a camaraderie-building tool—inspiring fitness and fun through participation in community-cultural events, such as the Dragon Boat Festival. With solid tips and sound advice, see how this Denver organization encourages staff to embrace and achieve work-life wellness.

Why is the health and wellness of your employees important to you?

We know that happy employees tend to be more healthy and productive employees. Our wellness program has created a sense of camaraderie, giving employees a chance to interact with other employees on a more social level.

Tell us about your worksite wellness activities/program.

The Denver Foundation has offered several activities and tools over the years.  2012 was the inaugural year of our participation in the Dragon Boat Festival.  We wanted to inspire fitness and fun while supporting an important community-cultural event.

How do you measure the success of your program?

For us, success is defined by our employees involved in the program. Some of us have fitness goals, others wanted to get to know their colleagues more. Some employees wanted to master their paddling technique, and others defined success as simply getting in the boat.

What obstacles did you have to overcome to get your program started?  How did you overcome them?

We have a very diverse workforce, ranging widely in terms of race and ethnicity, age, and physical fitness. One of the biggest obstacles was encouraging employees to overcome preconceived ideas about paddling a Dragon Boat in open water. Through the use of guest speakers, YouTube videos, opportunities to train together, and lots of humor, everyone was able to see themselves as an integral part of the team.

What tip/advice would you give to a business that is considering starting a worksite wellness program?

• Solicit ideas from your staff. Some of the best ideas came to us directly from our staff.
• Make sure to include activities for everyone on staff. We found that some of our employees enjoyed group activities and others preferred to set their own goals.
• Define wellness. To some of our staff, wellness meant lowering their BMI, cholesterol, or simply seeing an overall improvement in their biometric screening. To others, it meant achieving an ideal work-life balance or improving their sleep.
• Remember to have FUN.