Fresh Check Day 2023 Promotes Mental Wellness & Suicide Prevention on Campus

Fresh Check Day was held on Thursday, April 13, 2023 in an effort to promote and educate university students on mental wellness. With a vast array of booths, all featuring different activities and educational resources, students were offered free lunch, drinks, and supplies from the various tables scattered throughout the Ely Library building. Pet therapy was also offered inside the building as well as outside on the campus green, where attendees could pet dogs as well as briefly hold and snuggle baby goats from a local farm. The event was held from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.

Fresh Check Day was created and funded by the Jordan Poco Foundation, which aims to improve mental health awareness among university students in addition to reducing stigma surrounding discussions of mental wellness and suicide.

The event itself used a peer-to-peer messaging model, prioritizing dialogue between students and faculty and upholding them as realistic markers of social discourse relating to mental health. While collaborating with the prepared resources and activities, students will learn techniques and information about life skills, beneficial mental wellness practices, the importance of connectivity, as well as to how self-regulate their minds and bodies.

This is most present on the university’s official Instagram account (@westfieldstate), where Madeline LeBlanc ('23) interviewed fellow students attending the event. In the spirit of mental wellness, she asked them to compliment themselves. Things such as, “I’m smart”, “I’m confident”, “I’m hard-working and dedicated”, and “I think I’m a great friend,” were given as responses from various students who grinned at the question.

Video footage of others students holding goats, participating in the booth’s activities, and grabbing food reflected this uplifting atmosphere. Because of the organizers, the faculty and student volunteers, as well as each individual and enthusiastic participant, the annual event was once again a raging success.