Fostering Peace in Wellness in a Time of Crisis
The common stressors of everyday life can make it difficult to maintain a sense of peace, calm, and personal wellness; and this is when not in the midst of a global pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control confirms the very real stress that pandemics can induce and has noted the importance of dealing with this stress stating, “Coping with stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.”
As the Viz community continues to navigate through the challenges of COVID-19, it is more important than ever to support one another and find ways to remove and prevent stress when possible, rather than just treating it once it already exists. That is the purpose of the Peace in Wellness initiative.
The Viz entrepreneurship team, comprised of seniors Ellie Hillenbrand, Madeline Blazevic, and Maddie Wagner, has been working on its Peace in Wellness initiative since the fall of 2019, and recently launched the Peace in Wellness website. The site includes resources to help with time management, spiritual wellness, physical wellness (nutrition and exercise), self-care, and mental health. Additionally, several virtual sessions are planned, including a presentation from a life coach and a speaker from St. Luke’s Hospital who specializes in de-stressing as well as exercise classes.
This group of young women also has launched the first Peace in Wellness program: the Viz Family Partnership Program. The idea for the program came from Ellie Hillenbrand’s personal experience with friends and family in quarantine. Her dad was isolated in a separate room from the rest of the family, leaving her mom alone to organize online learning for her four younger siblings. Seeing this inspired Ellie to offer online tutoring to help other families in the same situation.
Realizing that not everyone has friends and/or family in St. Louis to rely on, Ellie took her idea to fellow entrepreneurship teammates Madeline and Maddie and the Viz Family Partnership Program was born. This program pairs two Visitation families that live in close proximity to one another. In the event that one family is forced to quarantine, the partner family will pick up and deliver school materials, groceries, and any other necessities. Additionally, older Viz students will be available to provide virtual tutoring if a younger student in their partner family needs help with school.
If your family would like to participate in the Viz Family Partnership Program, please fill out this Google form. If you need help filling out the Google form, click on this tutorial.
Follow Viz Peace in Wellness on Instagram @viz.peace.in.wellness for more updates or contact ehillenbrand@visitationacademy.org with questions.
Visitation Academy is an independent, private Catholic school offering a coeducational Montessori preschool and Kindergarten program, the area's only all-girl elementary program for Grades 1-5, and an all-girl middle school and all-girl high school.
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