DePaul invites employees to step up to the University Walking Challenge
March 28, 2012
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Human Resources (HR) is encouraging employees to add extra steps to their days through the Stay Healthy and Earn Healthy Vin-cent$ Campaign’s upcoming University Walking Challenge.
The challenge, organized through BlueCross BlueShield, will pit DePaul employees against Loyola University and Northwestern University employees in a 10-week walking competition. Subteams of DePaul’s central administration, colleges and schools also will compete to log the most distance. Grand prizes will be awarded to the top male and female participants from DePaul, and various other prizes will be awarded throughout the challenge.
All DePaul faculty and staff, even those not enrolled in a DePaul health plan, can participate. “This is an easy way for employees to embrace healthy activities that will enhance their quality of life,” says Rosa Perez, associate vice president for compensation and benefits. “The University Walking Challenge provides tools to help employees track their progress while they’re participating in exercise that can help relieve stress and improve health.”
The walking competition is a component of DePaul’s Stay Healthy and Earn Healthy Vin-cent$ Campaign, which allows employees to earn a $150 credit toward their 2013 medical plan premium costs. Employees must complete three of six HR-sponsored health activities—the University Walking Challenge included—before Oct. 31, 2012, to be eligible for the credit.
Receive a free pedometer
The walking competition will begin April 25 and will end July 4. To participate, employees first must register on BlueCross Blue Shield’s WalkingWorks website between April 9 and April 25. HR will send a university-wide e-mail in early April with more instructions on registering. Information also will be posted on the Healthy Vin-cent$ website.
The first 700 DePaul employees to attend a kickoff meeting for the University Walking Challenge will receive a free pedometer. (Meetings will be held on the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses.) Employees can use the pedometers to track their distance, but participation also may be logged in minutes or hours. This information then can be entered into BlueCross BlueShield’s WalkingWorks website for individual tracking. A demonstration of the website will be displayed at the kick-off meetings.
“Employees may be surprised by how easy it is to increase the level of their activity by simply taking the stairs instead of an elevator or by parking a little farther away in parking lots,” Perez says. “For example, employees who walk to the Metra typically walk at least a mile a day, which they could track through the WalkingWorks website for the University Walking Challenge.”
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