The Health & Wellness Centre recruits UTSC students as volunteers to be part of the HealthyU: Wellness Peer Program during the Winter semester in preparation for the following academic year. If you plan to be a registered student at UTSC in the upcoming Fall semester and want to be part of this exciting opportunity, please find the job description and application below.
Learn more about the HealthyU: Wellness Peer Program
Check out our 2020-21 Wellness Peer Program Teams conducting peer created, peer led Wellness Talks @ Home.
HealthyU: Wellness Peer Program - Volunteer Job Description
Location: UTSC Health & Wellness Centre, SL270
Number of Positions: 15+ volunteers recruited for each team
Hours of Volunteering: Minimum of 40 hours during academic year, CCR approved
Position Duration: Fall/Winter
Position Start Date: Training provided in August, then volunteer initiatives begin in September
Position End Date: April 30
There are 5 HealthyU: Wellness Peer Program Teams that we need students like YOU to be a part of!
Healthy Campus Team: curates health-focused workshops, projects, and events that teach UTSC students about the six pillars of "Healthy Campus", as well as connecting with specific student communities such as 2SLGBTQ+ students and Residence students
Mental Health Team: focuses on educating students about mental health awareness, self care, sleep, prioritizing emotional needs, building community, destigmatizing mental health disorders and medication, how to access support, etc
Sexual Health Team: focuses on healthy relationships, birth control, sexually transmitted infection awareness, hormonal conditions, 2SLGBTQ+ health, self care, body positivity, etc
Nutritional Health Team: focuses on healthier eating awareness, body image, eating disorders, diet culture, physical activity, food insecurity, meal prepping, etc
Substance Awareness Team: focuses on drug and alcohol awareness, gambling/sports betting, substance abuse and use, addictions, caffeine use, etc
Skills:
- Communication
- Creative
- Interpersonal
- Management
- Leadership
- Organizational
- Public Speaking
- Group Facilitation
- Teamwork
- Marketing
- Event Planning
Position Description:
Overall Goal of the HealthyU: Wellness Peer Program: To have UTSC students, under the guidance and support of Health & Wellness Centre, become a reliable resource for their peers by contributing to health promotion initiatives for the purpose of fostering a healthy community.
Role of the Wellness Peer Program Volunteers:
Objective 1: Volunteers will enhance their knowledge on wellness topics and issues by attending 2 compulsory trainings in August
Objective 2: Volunteers will enhance their communication skills by interacting with UTSC students to share wellness information in a creative manner that is respectful and accurate. This can be achieved through displays, campaigns, social media content creation, facilitation of workshops/events, connecting with students one-on-one, etc.
Objective 3: Volunteers will gain the skills to identify and support individuals that may require further information, referrals to the Health & Wellness Centre and/or appropriate student resources.
Objective 4: Volunteers will develop organization, leadership and teamwork skills through weekly group meetings to plan for events, workshops, displays, promotions, etc. and meet requests of the UTSC community.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Complete compulsory 1-day Content Training to gain relevant health promotion knowledge and skills!
- Complete compulsory 1-day General Training to learn about the Health & Wellness Centre and to meet other members on the other teams!
- Promote and participate in events throughout the year:
- Present displays during various large-scale initiatives which will include First Year Orientation Week, Wellness Fairs and other UTSC events
- Facilitate events at student residence and other student clubs, organizations and departments.
- Incorporate social media in campaigns and dissemination of health messages
- Plan initiatives, events, projects in a team setting
- Develop relationships with UTSC community to initiate collaborations on campus
- Meet deadlines of projects
- Attend weekly meetings and communicate among peer educators based on group needs (eg. team meetings, in person, email, telephone, etc).
- Provide and maintain accurate contact information
- Provide referral information on behalf of the Health & Wellness Centre and other resources
- Position CCR recognized (minimum of 40 hours/year)
How to Apply:
Applications for the 2024-2025 academic year are now closed. If you would like to be added to a waitlist, please contact Kezia Amoako, Health Promotion Coordinator at kezia.amoako@utoronto.ca. Thank you!