Health and Wellness Program Essays

Health and Wellness Program Essays Health and Wellness Program Essay Health and Wellness Program Essay Visual Literacy in Business Health and Wellness Program Dr. Ashish Godbole October 9, 2010 Due to the rising costs of health care insurance, it would be very beneficial to employees as well as Companies/Organizations themselves to implement a health and wellness program in work places. Facilitating a Health and Wellness Program in the workplace is the greatest assessment an employer can make because it would be an investment in their most valuable asset, the employees. With there being more urgency today than ever before, America is under pressure to be productive even as healthcare costs proceed to rise and bombard the most important resource, the employees. Research and data show: Health and Wellness in the workplace that contain fitness machinery have lowered employer healthcare expenditure by 20 to 55 %. Unnecessary sicknesses make up 70 % of illness expenditure in the U. S. The study of Health and Wellness in the workplace indicate that by lowering any one health risk factor, a person’s productivity on the job can increase by 9 % and lower absenteeism by 2 %. For every one dollar that a company spends on a Health and Wellness program in the workplace, it receives an average network profit of $3. 40 to $7. 88 (InfiniteHealthCoach. com, 2008, Health and Wellness in the Workplace). The achievement of any company/organization relies greatly upon the production and work performance of its employees. The ability to do a job and do it at a hig h level time and again is significantly aided by Health and Wellness Programs. They focus on the physical health of the employees, ensuring medical requirements and personal health as a main concern. The Police Athletic League has been instrumental in giving children and teenagers the chance to have a different life, by giving them the opportunity to participate in different activities. This enables the law enforcers to mould young children into responsible citizens and in enhancing the relationship between the police officers and the community. The Bergenfield Police Athletic League has many athletic and sporting programs, in addition to other recreational activities such as going on field trips. Although the league has taken the effort of ensuring that it provides many activities for children to participate in, the programs have limitations which include cost and age limitation. The age and cost limits have denied many children a chance to participate in the activities and benefit from other programs offered. A careful analysis of the existing resources from different sectors and stakeholders will reveal whether it is possible for the league to support free sports programs, and include a wider age group in their product and service offering. The league offers different activities with the registration fee ranging from $20-$50, depending on the form of the activity and the participating age group. Other costs involved include travel costs, which the league sets at $250, late fees, and fundraiser fees (Bergenfield PAL-a, 2013). Children over the age of 12 cannot participate in some of the programs. Only boys aged 5-12 have the opportunity of participating in baseball. However, girls can continue participating in softball up to the age of seventeen. Children over the age of 14 cannot participate in indoor soccer. The age limitations mean that many teenagers over the age of fifteen miss any opportunities of participating in different sporting activities. The cost may seem minimal for some people, but some families from low income families do not have the extra money to spare to register their children for different activities. This is a monumental problem because it has led to many teenagers missing the chance of accessing h ealth and wellness programs Offering free programs to the youth in the area and increasing the age limit will solve the problem, by giving more youth the chance to participate in different programs. However, for the league to do this, it has to look for alternative means of getting the funds for different logistics. The league needs money for various purposes, even though it gets the services of volunteers. To do this, the league has to identify different companies, institutions, and individuals willing to sponsor and contribute to the program. Already, different businesses in the town sponsor the teams. The sponsors include Burger King, Chase Bank, and Nissan among others. The sponsorship from the different businesses helps in providing equipment and uniforms for the teams. There is a need to source for additional funding from different sources so that the league can eliminate any costs and charges required from the participants, get support from supplementary coaches, which will ensure additional activities i ncluded in the program, and manage to incorporate older teenagers in different programs. The league can get additional funding by involving the entire community. This includes making more people in the community aware of the existence and importance of the program and asking them to support the programs. Individuals can make their donations by contributing money and services. The league can also seek the partnership of additional businesses in the region. The participation of additional businesses will increase the sponsorship to the league. The league needs to identify the different areas where it incurs costs. Seeking volunteers to handle some of these sectors will reduce the need for expenses in those sectors. The league can get further money by participating in different fundraising activities. Currently, the league charges families fundraising fees, and even though the amount is small, some low income families cannot afford to make the sacrifice. One of the methods used for raising funds is holding an event which will ensure the participation of all the members of t he community. The event should be something that all the members in a family can enjoy and participate in, irrespective of the gender, age, or ability of the people involved. Proposal After a careful evaluation of the programs offered by the Bergenfield Police Athletic League, there is an obvious need to improve and enhance the programs offered by making them more inclusive. The potential funding received from donors and other sponsors will give the league additional funding for their activities. The youth in Bergenfield can have the opportunity of benefiting from the health and wellness program of their police force. The children who participate in different programs offered by the league have no continuation program, which will ensure that they keep busy after school. Some of the children cannot afford summer camps and other after school activities. Providing different activities will increase the number of opportunities that young children and teenagers have. The Bergenfield All-Inclusive Integrated Program (BAIP) will ensure that all the children and the teenagers get the chance to participate in the different programs offered by Bergenfield Police Athletic Le ague. I have developed this program, having considered the identified limitations of the current program. BAIP will increase the number of programs that the youth can participate in during weekday evenings and on weekends. It will increase the number of sports and other recreational that the participants can join, and it will increase the age group in the existing sport activities. The additional sport activities to be offered in the program will include gymnastics, golf, football, fencing, and martial arts. Additional recreational activities in the program include fishing, lessons in art, dancing, cooking, and crafts (National Association of Police Athletic/Activities League, Inc., 2013). All coaches and teachers for the various programs are volunteers, who have experience in the different areas. The people interested in golf, fishing, and fencing will only do so during the weekends. All the other activities are offered during the weekends as well as weekday evenings. The participants in all the additional activities will be split into three age groups; 9-11, 12-15 and 16-18. The existing sponsors will continue providing uniforms and equipment for the other activities. The additional businesses contacted for additional sponsorship will provide equipment for the other activities. Their efforts will be supplemented by the additional individual donations, and the funds realized from the fundraising events organized. The events can be organized three times per year, to ensure that there are adequate funds to cover for the additional activities. Other than football, golf, and fishing, it is possible to do the activities throughout the year since most of them can be done indoors. I hope that, by increased awareness, additional people in the area will become interested in volunteering their services. There are many youths in Bergenfield who would want to participate in the programs offered by the Police Athletics League. More interactions with the law enforcers will give the youth and children a chance to learn more about the importance of maintaining the law, and what they can do to prevent crime in their region. In addition, the children and the youth will be more comfortable with the police and this will enable them to seek assistance wherever they are in need. Participating in different recreational and sport programs with the officers is a different experience from that realized when the participants do the same activities alone or with their families. This is because the youth get a chance to learn and they have a positive influence and role models. Therefore, every effort should be made to ensure that the programs continue and that they are accessible to everyone. References: Bergenfield PAL-a (2013). Bergenfield police athletic league. Retrieved from bergenfieldpal.net/home/home_main.htm Bergenfield PAL-a (2013). 2013 PAL fall recreation Bergenfield united travel outdoor soccer. Retrieved from bergenfieldpal.net/soccer/soccer_registration.htm National Association of Police Athletic/Activities League, Inc. (2013). Programs offered by PALs across the nation. Retrieved from nationalpal.org/programs