The Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation hosted the 17th Annual Health and Wellness Fair on Alcorn State University’s campus in the Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
There were various tables set up in the main lobby of the Davey L. Whitney HPER complex for vendors, Alcorn health organizations such as ASU HEROS (Health Educators Reaching Other Students), nurses, optometrists and other health experts, to pass out information on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), diabetes and other major health issues affecting the community. Additionally, this event provided an excellent opportunity for not only students to come out and get informed, it also allowed those in surrounding communities such as Jefferson County and Claiborne County to gather information about health and partake in yoga exercises and stretches.
“The health fair was started back in 1999 and since then we’ve networked with so many vendors outside of Alcorn. Communities in Jackson and Louisiana and the Alcorn campus community seems to cater to this event every year because they get a lot of information and they network with a lot of different agencies that help them out with wellness,” said Casaundra Thompson, who is the Administrative Assistant of Health and Physical Education and the Event Coordinator for the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
The vendors in attendance this year included representation from the Jefferson Comprehensive Health Center, Families First for Mississippi, M&M Behavioral Health Center, LLC, Strengthening Mississippi Community Education Center and Ladies in the County, who are in collaboration with Alcorn State University’s Extension Program. These vendors distributed flyers regarding upcoming health events such as Spring into Health Fair in Fayette, Mississippi, pamphlets about smoking, diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, diabetic eye disease, sex and abstinence. Adult health and guideline information as set forth by the Mississippi State Health Department was also passed out as a reference for those in attendance.
Matthew Gardner, a Computer Science major from St. Petersburg, Florida stated, “I feel like the event is very educational. The students are very much involved. It gives them an opportunity to know their resources around them.”
For more information about Alcorn’s Health Fair, contact Casaundra Thompson at (601) 877-6507 or cthompson@alcorn.edu.