A mental health and wellness fair will be held in the cafeteria on Tuesday, April 4 during block lunch. Activities for students to participate in include coloring, yoga and petting therapy dogs. Students can also receive aromatherapy bracelets and fidget toys.

The fair was first hosted by the b-well club last year. Sponsors Cassandra Ragsdale and Blair Green want to bring it back to show students ways to deal with stress, even if they aren’t in the club or the counseling and mental health class. 

“After our fair in the fall, students have come by to grab some of the different fidgets and they might say ‘The yoga helped me to calm down’ or ‘I like to smell the aromatherapy bracelet,’” Ragsdale said. “I just love hearing from students talk and say something that helps them or let me know what they need.” 

The b-well club meets every Tuesday during B block in Green’s room and talks about what they should do next. At first, the club struggled with getting enough volunteers, but with the help of students, they managed to get enough participants. 

“We do not fundraise, so we turn to the community to provide these supplies and resources,” Green said. “The majority of our stations are manned by our b-well club, but we have partnered with other student organizations such as Kindness Ambassadors and Student Council to obtain volunteers for the event.”

Not only does the fair help students with their stress, but it also encourages students to pay attention to their mental health.

“Mental health used to be viewed as a bad thing, and it’s good to see it’s not viewed as that as much anymore,” senior Annmarie Whitehead said. “It’s good thing to identify if you have [mental illness].” 

Despite the mental health and wellness fair being around for a short time, Ragsdale and Green plan to keep providing awareness to find healthy ways to cope with stress. 

“In the future, we might do a survey, maybe at the beginning of next year with some of the students that come to the club and say what are some issues they want us to focus on,” Ragsdale said. “We want the students to let us know what you need and what’s important to you.” 

The mental health and wellness fair has provided students opportunities to recognize help in different ways. For students who may not know where to find solutions, the fair allows them to better align with coping mechanisms.

“I hear students tell me all the time how much stress they have and how much stress and anxiety school causes them,” Ragsdale said. “If they could just learn a couple of ways to help cope, it will help them in their life.”