The purpose of this initiative is to promote the importance of achieving and maintaining positive mental health, and how to deal effectively with mental illness. Topics covered include: the connection between physical activity and mental health, how pets affect mental health, helping someone you know who has a mental illness, coping with a mental illness at work, age and mental well-being, and much more.

Planning a theme-related event is a great way to let employees know about upcoming activities, contests, resources, and information available to them. By doing this, you will help employees make the connection between the event or activity and the other components of your campaign for the Keep Health In Mind initiative. Below are a variety of ideas that can be organized as stand alone events or integrated into upcoming at-work activities. 

Mental Health Workshop 

Kick off your Keep Health In Mind initiative by inviting a guest speaker to present a “Lunch and Learn” workshop. For example:

• Invite a guest speaker from the Canadian Mental Health Association or other qualified community agency to present information on: mental health challenges facing Canadians; how to recognize the signs and symptoms of common mental illnesses; enhancing coping skills; and helping managers, supervisors and employees become part of the solution in reducing the stigma of mental health.

Keep Health In Mind Fair

Organize a Health Fair at your workplace. Invite organizations to provide materials and introduce employees to theme-related issues. Organizations and professionals could include the Canadian Mental Health Association, Centre For Addiction and Mental Health, Teen Health Centre, a local Veterinarian, Council On Aging, Moods Disorders Association of Ontario, or the National Eating Disorder Information Centre. 

Online Treasure Hunt Challenge

Set up a Treasure Hunt Challenge over the Internet. Select key Mental Health websites and choose various words, phrases, sentences, and facts from their site for employees to locate. Create a list of clues that will lead them from one site to another. This is a great way to encourage staff to learn about mental illnesses and mood disorders by becoming familiar with key websites that are related to the initiative.

Puzzle Game Day

Host a Game Day for employees with a variety of short puzzles that can be completed individually or in teams for a chance to win prizes. Games could include jigsaw puzzles, suduko puzzles, or rubix cubes. Or, invite employees to form teams to see who can build the tallest structure out of popsicle sticks, straws, or other basic materials. For an extended challenge, consider organizing a chess tournament, or have staff work in teams to put together a 10, 000 piece puzzle. Award prizes to the individual or team who wins the tournament or who puts the puzzle together fastest.

Physical Activity to Manage Stress

• “Walk the Boss” Day - Building physical activity into your day at work is a great way to relieve stress and tension to give your “brain” a break. Ask a member of senior management to serve as an active role model for staff by leading a 30-minute walk in the area around your workplace or on a local trail. Bring in a local, certified fitness expert to conduct warm-up and cool-down exercises before and after the walk and have plenty of water, juice, fruit and vegetables available for participants. Draw names for fitness-related prizes.
• Fitness Break - Bring in a qualified fitness professional to lead a class in yoga, tai chi or simple desk stretching to introduce employees to active ways of relieving daily stress. Invite all employees to take part.
• Walk Across Canada - Encourage friendly competition in your workplace by organizing a “Walk Across Canada” or “Physical Activity Challenge”. Employees can compete individually or form teams to accumulate enough kilometres to travel across Canada. Teams can be made up of employees from different floors, departments, or other groups found in your workplace. To make it easier for participants to complete the challenge, use a formula to calculate how much distance each minute of exercise equals (e.g., 1 minute of activity = 2 kilometres). Team members must track the number of kilometres they cover, and group leaders gather and report the total mileage for the team. Set a reasonable time limit for the challenge (e.g., 2 weeks or 2 months). Post a large map for the teams to see and mark off the kilometres as they are completed each week. Participants can exercise during their breaks or after work. The team that has travelled the farthest distance at the end of the challenge will be the winner.   
• Healthy Weights Challenge - Offer a group healthy weight loss challenge with a twist. This activity is best done in an environment where a large freight scale is available. Have one team or department step on the scale together. Competing teams or departments witness the weight of the entire group. Repeat with all teams. Even those currently at a healthy weight can support others by maintaining their weight. Be careful to structure the event to foster healthy weight loss (no more than 1-2 lb, or 0.5-1 kg, per person per week) rather than a competitive frenzy that could lead to rapid or extensive weight loss. One way to do this is to reward the team that is closest to their group goal rather than the team that loses the most weight.
• Sports Fair - Expose employees to many different sporting and recreation opportunities available to them in the community by organizing a Sports Fair. Invite local sporting and recreation clubs/groups to set up displays and provide information. This will allow employees to learn about the sport and the supporting organizational body without having to make any time or financial commitment.

Humour in the Workplace 

• Funny Stuff – Plan a day where you distribute humourous items as door prizes during a healthy snack break or after a noon hour “stress buster” walk.  These items could include daily “joke” calendars or any other humourous item you feel is appropriate for the workplace. 
•  Guest speaker - Investigate the possibility of bringing in a Certified Laughter Leader or Humourist to discuss the mental and physical health benefits of laughter. 
• HumourFest - This could include reserving an area where employees can sit and view slapstick comedies such as Laurel and Hardy, Three Stooges, or classic sitcoms such as I Love Lucy, Cheers and Seinfeld. Workplaces can also prepare and offer healthy snacks such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat popcorn or muffins.
• Comedy Club Night – Consider organizing a group outing to a local comedy club. In addition to a fun, humorous evening, a group outing encourages social interaction between employees and their families.

Family Outing

Encourage employees and their families to be active together this summer by organizing an outing at a local recreation area or family friendly facility (e.g., indoor or outdoor swimming pool, community park, biking/hiking trails, Children’s Safety Village etc.). Have prizes and offer nutritious snacks. Also, you may want to tie-in your event with an upcoming holiday or health day/week/month. Be sure to include at-work posters and take home information to help promote this special outing.

Open House at Work

Invite employees and their families to an open house at work. Consider organizing family-friendly activities for children such as face painting, balloon twisting or cooperative games.  Be sure to offer healthy snacks (i.e., fruit & vegetable BBQ) and refreshments for visitors. You may even want to invite local community health agencies to provide visitors with health information. These suggestions serve as a starting point. Feel free to brainstorm healthy activities that will best meet the interests of your employees and their families.